In The Blood
by badflower
Summary: Eric Northman/OC. Godric is gone, and all he has left Eric with is a letter, a new bookkeeper at Fangtasia, and a hell of a lot of cryptic unanswered questions. Wanna know more? Then read on!   Story is NC17, DO NOT READ if you are against adult content!
1. Chapter 1

Usual disclaimer applies to this, complete work of my imagination, all TB characters (and partial use of season 3 plotline) are the ideas and properties of Charlaine Harris and not me. All original characters not to the original storyline are of my creation, and all the rest of it...enjoy

Please note - some things will be slightly different to the story/parts of season 3 I'm including into it, such as time of year, and the fact I've made Pam's character a hell of a lot more human in nature too. These are just my own interpretations, so stick with me lol, everything is done as it is for a purpose

Chapter One.

Eric's POV.

_'Eric, my precious child,__  
__As you read this you will now be dealing with the fact I am no more, I do hope the loss you feel is not too great, you know in some small way I shall always be with you. Now, down to some business that must be attended to; I have fired Claudine on your behalf; do not reinstate her under your employment. And do not, I repeat DO NOT, fire her replacement or let her leave under any circumstances. Those are orders I command you to obey, even in my true death. I cannot be more explicit, or more firm, when I tell you her replacement will do the job just fine. She is beyond perfect for you Eric, take that however you will, but heed it too. Your new bookkeeper is more valuable to you than you can realize right now. Heed my words'_.

'You leave me after a thousand years, and all I get is a cryptic note about a new fucking bookkeeper? Godric, you are absolutely astounding' I whisper to myself, frowning down at the letter my maker posted to me, that I found amongst the rest of the mail in the office of my bar, Fangtasia. I did wonder why Claudine wasn't down here looking over the books when I arrived. Normally she'd just be finishing up, efficient as she is. Or rather was, since Godric took it upon himself to fire her for me, for a reason that I confess to be a complete mystery to me. And now I cannot even broach the subject with him, sit down and ask him why he felt it so important to do the hiring and the firing of my staff for me, since just three mornings ago he decided to see his last sunrise, and burn away in front of it. I pleaded with him not to, tried to make him see how much I still needed him as his progeny, but alas my words were to no avail, his mind was made up. 2,000 plus years was enough for him it would seem, and the very thought of an existence without my beloved maker drove me to the same decision as he, to burn by his side in the dawn light. If only he hadn't have commanded me to leave, to let him see his last sunrise without me there with him. It comforts me only slightly that he did have company, he didn't go totally alone. Sookie Stackhouse stayed with him, perhaps the one human (of sorts, she's not completely human) I can stomach to have in my company for more time than it would take me to fuck or kill her. The two things all humans are ever good for if you ask me. It still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, my maker's affection for them.

But back to my pondering, why on earth did he fire Claudine? Perhaps the most reliable person I've ever met with figures, who looked after my business so well? Kept all my affairs in order and did it quickly and efficiently? What fault could he have possibly found with her? Normally anyone else pushing their nose into my business affairs would receive the kind of treatment that would make them wish they'd never been born, but Godric is (was) my maker after all, and a huge exception to that. Which is why, no matter the reason, I must trust him on this, and assume the reason behind Claudine's dismissal was one he felt important enough for him to relieve her of her position here, and replace her with some complete unknown who I must not fire or let leave, whatever the circumstance. I suppose I must also trust him with that too, that whatever reasons he may have had for this cryptic behaviour, they are all in my best interests. As my maker all he's ever wanted for me is the best, so through confusion and unanswered questions, I must accept it.

'Where's Claudine? I brought these down for her to sort out into some kind of legible order. Fucking Kerstin couldn't organise credit card payments by date order if it killed her, hell I've threatened her with that enough by now too' Pam says as she comes into my office, without knocking. Even though as my own progeny she's been with me for over a hundred years now, I still command the same level of respect.

'Firstly Pam, you know better than not to knock upon my office door by now. Secondly, if anyone is going to hand out threats over a human's mortality it's me, not you. And thirdly, Claudine won't be coming back, she's been fired' I reply as I sit behind my desk, opening the draw and sliding Godric's note inside.

'Am I allowed to ask why you fired her?' she asks, sarcasm dripping from her voice that only amuses me.

'Yes you are, but I was not the one to fire her. Godric did, so good luck to you if you want to enquire with him as to why' I reply, with more sarcasm than she could ever muster as I stand before moving rapidly out of my office and downstairs, through the small darkened secret staircase and back down to the darkened confines of my underground home below the bar, a huge open plan apartment that never sees daylight thanks to the fact its sub terrain. If it hadn't have been I'd have probably given it the same treatment as I did the bar, huge blackout blinds I had installed when I moved here, that will now have risen to let in the night. They'll close again just before dawn, and protect me, Pam and our vampire patrons from the dawn. I arrived home from Dallas just forty eight hours ago, and once I was inside the safety of the club and it's blinded windows and had gotten out of the coffin I travelled in on the plane, I stood in front of those blinds and watched them descend until nothing but black bathed the room, standing just a foot from them, with my finger extended towards the retractor button to the side, weighing up the options on offer to me. Stay, or follow my maker. The pain of losing him was the closest thing that had brought me back to feeling human for the first time in a thousand years, and I didn't care for it at all. Not one ounce.

And so I stepped back from the blinds and banished those thoughts that had not left me since I left Dallas, and deduced that my own suicide would be a total act of cowardice, and that I am strong enough to stand alone without Godric. But it doesn't mean I want to of course, and that is still what bothers me now, bothers me so much I cannot sleep, and will no doubt spend many more consecutive days awake suffering the bleeds instead of resting, with the demise of my maker firmly upon my mind. You can't just cast away the last one thousand years, and everything you shared with the vampire who became a father to you in just the blink of an eye, or the splash of a bloody tear. I will miss him greatly, this much is very true. I shall miss his guidance, company, and wisdom. But most of all I shall miss the simple things...like being able to ask him why he fired my bookkeeper...no matter what I profess I think it's going to bother me for a while yet.

Tyra's POV.

'Hey Sam, here ya go. Last month's lot done and dusted' I say to Sam Merlotte, as I sit on a high stool at the bar of his establishment I do the books for.

'Thanks Tyra' he says, shyly and quickly as usual as he takes the box file off the bar from where I slid it to him, and hurries off, waitress Sookie moving in to pass me a menu with her usual cheery smile firmly in place. We've known each other since school (I was two years above her class) but only really talked on a casual, friendly basis since I started doing the books for Merlotte's a year ago, about the time she began dating local vampire Bill Compton.

'Is he always gonna act like that?' I ask her, jerking my thumb in the direction Sam just did about 30mph in.

'He still maintains that for some reason you make him feel nervous, I don't know what it is, maybe it's a crush and he just don't wanna tell nobody. That's what Lafayette has always said anyways' she replies, before adding 'you look tired doll, all work and no play huh?'

'That sums it up nicely Miss Stackhouse, I'm so busy right now I'm barely managing five hours sleep of sleep a night. This face, this face here is down to Christian Dior, not me' I reply, pointing at my immaculate face (because it can't be anything but right now, I'm so tired I look more dead than her other half right now underneath it) and then rest my head down on the bar, making pretend and loud snoring noises while she just laughs and shakes her head warmly.

'Oh you silly thing, you do make me giggle. So, what are you having other than a coffee sweetie?' she asks me, as I peruse the menu briefly and then decide on my usual.

'Grilled cheese and turkey sandwich with coleslaw and home fries please Sookie' I reply, watching her scribble down the order.

'Coming right up' she replies with a smile, dotting her pad with the pencil she holds and turning to sashay over to the kitchen, passing Lafayette the order, who waves to me and shouts 'hey ice princess' in his usual slow, deliberate drawl.

'Hey big poppa' I reply, waving back and smiling. Ice princess, he makes me laugh. He calls me that because I have blue eyes and very pale blonde hair, and says I look 'like you live in a glacier' as he puts it. I guess I do stick out a little around here. I think most Swedish people do in the Deep South, even though I've lived here since I was four. My accent still lingers just a little too, especially since English wasn't my first language. But, Bon Temps has been home for longer than Sweden was, and it's familiar and lovely and just what I stated it to be; home. A place I cannot wait to drag my weary ass back to later after I've eaten, but in the building sense rather than the place. The one bedroom house out in the woods (in very close proximity to Lafayette's place too, just across the road down by the lake) I was able to buy after setting up my own accounts firm, just me as a one woman operation working out of a small office at home, or at clients' premises, whichever is most convenient for them. Most don't trust enough for that, to just take their books and banking information and leave their premises, well, my vampire customers seem to be a little more like that at the moment, since most of them are under examination by the IRS. In fact, the undead make up two thirds of my business right now because of that. And tomorrow I take on another one, starting my first day of taking up the reins of the bookwork for a vampire bar in nearby Shreveport. A vampire named Eric Northman owns the place, but it was 'an associate' of his with a strangely familiar voice who contacted me about the position and between us we arranged for me to start tomorrow, when he called and enquired as to if I was 'happy to deal with vampires as clients' just over a fortnight ago.

'One grilled cheese and turkey, enjoy darlin' Sookie says to me as she places my order down on the table, and then refills my coffee from the almost empty pot in her hand before bustling away with a smile once more and leaving me to happily dig in to the first meal I've eaten since my bran flakes and fruit at 7am. Yeah I know, I work too damn hard and don't take enough time for myself, story of my life really. It's something my adoptive mother and father instilled in me from an early age, the value of a hard day's work and I've never forgotten it. So much so my hard day's work often leads into the night, but not tonight, oh no! Tonight I'm going to go from here and drive my overtired, overworked ass right on home and throw it right into a tub of hot water. And speaking of my parents, when I do finally arrive back at my humble abode just over forty five minutes later, I find a box waiting for me on the porch.

_'I did hope I might have caught you at home, I'm starting to forget what you look like these days! Pop your head around our door to remind your mother and I what our only child looks like, and enjoy these, fresh from the patch.__  
__Daddy xxx'_

I smile fondly and with sad humour as I read my fathers' note to me, feeling a little guilty that I haven't been to see him and mom in two weeks now. When my own mother died I really fell on my feet when I was placed into their care as a scared six year old child, still wondering when she was going to see her mother again, not quite understanding what it meant when the foster family who cared for me in the weeks following her murder told me 'your mommy died, it means you can't see her again'. They have loved me and raised me as theirs without question, to them I'm the only daughter they'll ever know, but also they perfectly understood that they weren't the only parents I had known. That's the reason they didn't get angry or upset when a few years later I decided not to take their family name of Jameson, and wanted to stick with my mother's ancient family name, Boden. I'm still very much loyal to my Swedish heritage in that respect, and I love my mom and dad even more for respecting that, respecting that I wanted to carry my family name still, and not let this particular line of the Boden clan die out. We're of a very old Swedish lineage apparently. I sadly never knew my real father, who died in a boating accident just eight weeks before I was born, and my biological mother I only knew for six years, until she was murdered by an assailant who was never caught. Nor does anyone know why my mother was targeted exactly; they just broke into our home, broke her neck and left her there for dead on the floor of the kitchen.

It took me a long, long time to get over her murder, no child should ever have to go through that, losing their parents at such a tender age (hell, I was -1 when I lost my father). But the loving care of Joyce and Albert Jameson guaranteed I turned out a good kid after such a sad start in life, and they shaped me into the person I know would make my real mother and father very proud. But anyway enough of this sad talk, conversing about my parents' demise has never made me feel particularly comfortable as I'm sure you can imagine. After putting the box of vegetables in the kitchen and pouring myself a large glass of red wine, I drop my bag and jacket down on the couch, pulling out my cell and switching it off, and then casting it back down on top of the pile and heading off into the bathroom. My tub calls me.

And into the hot water I sink so happily just over ten minutes later, the sounds of black metal band Emperor filtering through my stereo speakers after I hooked up my I-pod while the bath water ran. Some think I'm strange for finding such raw and dark music soothing; but I always find and love beauty in chaos. And their music is quite chaotic I suppose you could say, like a lot of my other musical preferences too. I like aggression; I find something about it desirable. I'm strange like that I guess. Lying back in the hot water as the music continues to drift in through the open bathroom door and into my ears, pushing all the dollar signs and numbers out, I feel myself begin to really unwind, so much so that decide to set my glass down carefully on the side of the tub, just in case I do fall asleep. Red wine is a bitch to get out of cream coloured carpet. As predicted, just a few more gulps of my wine and a couple more songs later and I drift off to sleep, my heavy eyelids no longer able to prop themselves open and drifting shut, not to open again for an hour when I wake to find myself lying in a very, very cold bath full of water, and diving out at speed to wrap myself in towels to warm up again. After draining and then cleaning the bath tub I pick up my glass and take it out with me, placing it into the sink and picking up a clean large tumbler to fill with water that I take to bed with me once I've double checked all the windows and doors are locked, and padded through to my bedroom to remove the wet towels from my body and hair, hang them on the radiator to dry and then sort out coming my long hair back and braiding it, moisturising my face and hopping into bed. I've always slept naked, I hate the confines of clothes when I'm in bed, and just use extra blankets to keep out the cold. Especially being a single girl right now and not having a nice warm body there to keep me warm too.

'I promise I'll sleep until at least nine in the morning, I know what you're thinking, and you're right I do work too hard. But that new client I'm doing the books for has instructed I arrive after sun down, so I don't have to be there until 5pm either. I'll actually do a little relaxing tomorrow, promise you I will, because wherever you are, I know you still worry, I can feel it somehow' I say out loud as I talk to the photograph of my beautiful mother, pride of place on my nightstand in a beautiful ornate gold frame. I always talk to her, usually at the start and end of each day, something my adoptive mom encouraged me to do from an early age. She and dad explained death so wonderfully to me, with so much more detail than the foster parents I stayed with did, and with much more concern for my emotions too.

'You see, when someone dies, we firmly believe their soul still floats around those who they loved but had to leave, and daddy and I both believe she watches over you pumpkin, she's still with you, you just can't see her is all. And we know you miss her, but listen to this. We know she misses you too, so talk to her, let her hear your voice, then you both won't be so lonely anymore will you? Not that daddy or I will ever let you get lonely precious, we'll always be here for you'.  
I remember that speech like it was spoken to me yesterday, as I sat on the edge of my new bed in my new home, feeling so alone still, clutching the very picture that rests in front of me right now in my hands too. I still feel incredibly lucky to have two mothers, one who watches over me in the land of the living, and the other from the realm of the dead.

'Goodnight mom, love you' I tell the one who's no longer there, and make a mental note to give the one who is a call tomorrow and arrange to go and see her. And with that, quick is the rate that I fall back into dreamland, having no idea whatsoever that when I open my eyes again tomorrow, I will open them to the day that will begin the course of events to change my life forever...

'Shit, shit, SHIT! STUPID SECOND HAND!' I scream with annoyance as I run across my house the next day at 4.20pm and fling my useless broken watch down on the couch, forty minutes before I have to be in Shreveport to start work with my new client. I've been out enjoying a nice long afternoon jog, and now unless I move at the speed my new client possesses (vampires move faster than our eyes can detect of course) I'm going to be running very late to get there for 5pm as instructed, since my watch decided to break down on me at 3.30pm, only realizing the time when I looked up at my old mantle clock as I came into the house. And so thanking my lucky stars I already did my hair this morning (washed, conditioned and straightened) all I have to do is give it a good brush once I've untied it after the shower I plan to be in and out of within two minutes, dry, dress and collect my stuff before I'm out the door. I'll do my makeup when I hit the inevitable traffic leading into Shreveport. I don't wear much anyway so mascara, eyeshadow and eyeliner can all be added to my face as various stops in tailbacks or traffic lights when they turn red, which I manage to do and finish with a small twist of blush to my pale cheeks as my Sat Nav system directs me to the road the bar leads off, being able to see Fangtasia come into sight as I round the corner and slow down to pull into the parking lot. I know, Shreveport isn't a million miles away from Bon Temps, but I'm useless with maps, utterly useless. I need a voice telling me 'turn left, take the next exit on the right, stay in the middle lane' etc, etc.

Opening my car door I pull my long wool coat around me more to keep out the January cold, walking over to the main doors through the newly cast down darkness as quickly as I can even though I'm actually a little bit early, and knocking them once I get there. The club itself is huge, a big corrugated iron building that stretches at least forty feet back from its much narrower frontage, which looks a lot less ugly than the iron what with its plush padded leather door. The neon sign is a little cheesy though.

'We don't open for another hour, unless you're our new bookkeeper?' A vampire woman who is immaculately dressed in leather pants and a long sleeve tight pink sweater with perfect makeup says to me once she's pulled the heavy door open.

Yes, Tyra Boden, pleased to meet you' I say, offering my hand that she looks at for a few moments before deciding to shake, giving me a thin smile.

'Pamela Swynford De Beaufort, but you can call me Pam. Follow me please, and I must say those pumps are to die for. If I wasn't dead already' she says, suddenly looking down at my feet and then back up at me with another quick flicker of a smile. Vampires aren't overly friendly, but then they're not as aggressive or sullen as many people would have you think. And this one certainly has a good eye for shoes if nothing else.

'Thank you' I reply, walking along behind her as she leads me through the club and over to a black painted door, opening it to reveal an office within.

'Okay, so basically Eric likes his affairs kept in meticulous order so requires his bookkeeper here for two days a week to deal with all the accounts, make sure everything is as I just stated; meticulous. He's very, very fussy with his finances and his business, so just be warned there. Right, well there's the computer as you can see, feel free to use it of course and the box file on the desk of the last two weeks books, and I took the liberty of at least trying to organise the last fourteen days of credit card payment receipts into some sort of logical order, since one of our bar tenders just cannot get her brain in gear for long enough to do it correctly. But I have to confess I've had more pressing demands on my time, so they're all there in the box next to the books. Enjoy' she says before giving me that same kind of half smile, and turning on her heel to leave, throwing 'Eric will be awake in the next hour, so he'll come and introduce himself then' before the door swings shut behind her, and I sit down and open the box containing the many, many credit card slips, figuring I should begin this arduous task of arranging them into date order as soon as I can. Honestly, how difficult is it to lay down all the receipts in one of the bill holders in the register on top of each other so they are all in order and then staple them together at the end of each night? Very difficult going on the disgust in Pam's voice as she spoke of the girl who'd messed them up is anything to go by.

And so I sit in the quiet office and begin reading through the printed dates on the slips and arranging little piles in front of me, until I have fourteen all down in order and can staple them together, and then tally them into the spreadsheet I have opened on the computer, hooking up my external hard drive so I can keep a record of Fangtasia's accounts for myself too. It's always safer to back up than risk your client losing all of your files if their machine suffers a blip. I learned at the hard way as a rookie bookkeeper many years ago, which got me fired from my first job and gave me the determination I needed never to make that mistake again, and also decide to go it alone and start up my own business. And so after entering all the figures I need to begin the sums to balance it up I then open the box file and begin to pull out all the invoices and enter those in date order too, the numbers all now starting to add up nicely as I go through each figure, invoice, register balance and credit card receipt, working away quickly and efficiently as I feel everything starting to make sense. I like that about my work, when the numbers all add up. It's when they don't add up that the problems begin.

'You must be Tyra, Eric Northman' I suddenly hear, my head snapping up and my eyes fixing on my new boss...who happens to be the most beautiful thing I've ever cast my eye over, and makes my breath catch in my throat like it's been gripped by an iron fist. Forget numbers that wont tally, I think this is when the problems are going to begin...


	2. Chapter 2

Eric's POV.

'Pleased to meet you, do you prefer Eric or Mr Northman?' she replies curtly, her full lips curving into a small smile. She must give excellent blow jobs with those lips.

'Eric will suffice just fine, not that you'll see me often enough to warrant using it much' I reply, a small amount of me impressed at her courtesy to actually ask how I like to be addressed, and the rest trying to remember where I've seen her before, brain waves shooting through my memory bank to find her face and place it to a situation, but failing on the first attempt. I have to have seen her before, she looks so familiar. And she he feels familiar too, which is the strangest thing. There is an instant familiarity regarding her name though, since Boden was my mothers' maiden name (then again Boden is as common a surname in Sweden as Smith in England), and she is of the same nationality as me, but it just isn't either of those things. It's something else. If she wasn't looking at me like she doesn't know me at all right now I'd say I'd probably fucked her at some point, but trying to go down that road is useless. At my age, I've gone through a hell of a lot of women, somewhere in the six figure mark I'd imagine; if I even cared to count. But she's familiar for some reason...and I don't know why yet.

'Well for someone who I won't see very much of, you sure do hang around' she replies lightly yet boldly at the same time. Typical Swede, we see it, we say it. And I can't help but feel slightly humoured by her reply.

'I shall leave you to your work then Miss Boden, which incidentally is how I'd prefer to address you' I reply with a small nod, before leaving the room and moving through the club rapidly to take my seat in my usual place centre stage, scanning the room and watching every single pair of eyes fall right on me, just where they belong. And so they should to, they're looking at the handsomest vampire that walks the earth. And one of the strongest; I enjoy the fact that mortals and vampires alike respect that too. But, as I cast my gaze across the floor of my club, nothing visual manages to stimulate my brain or sway my arduous train of thoughts away from trying to remember where I've seen that woman before. I've had my fill of cheap, forgettable whores who grovel at my feet and beg for me to either bite them or impale them on my cock, but before I even walked into my office this evening I knew the woman waiting on the other side of the door was no castaway piece of trash, I could feel that about her too. And now, now I'm also starting to think about what Godric wrote to me in that letter. I must not fire her or let her leave, and she is more valuable to me than I realize. Did he know something about an IRS investigation that I don't? That would explain perhaps him cryptically telling me he's leaving me a top notch bookkeeper, but that doesn't explain why he fired the existing top notch one, or why her replacement feels so familiar to me.

'So, have you met your new bookkeeper?' I hear Pam say behind me, turning my head slowly to see her walk around to stand to my side.

'I have' I reply, looking up at her and then away, giving a small nod of recognition to an associate of mine who has just arrived over at the bar.

'And what did you think?' she then asks me.

'Should there be something in particular to think Pam? I reply questioningly, raising an eyebrow at her.

'She's got a damn nice ass for one thing' she replies, while obviously picturing the sight in her mind judging by the sudden smirk on her face.

'Well I couldn't very well notice that when she was sat on it behind a desk now, could I?' I reply slowly, watching her pull a small face that says 'ah, see your point' before she heads back off to the entrance, back to do her job greeting and carding the patrons. But at just gone 7pm, when Tyra walks back through the club from the office, I cannot help but notice what Pam did earlier this evening, and notice it with much interest too. That beautiful, hard round ass swathed in the black fabric of the knee length tight skirt she's wearing, clinging to it and her slender, yet muscular legs like shrink wrap over a hot, curved surface. She walks like Marilyn Monroe in slow motion, the legendary blonde actresses wiggle replaced by more of a feline glide though. The way she moves is unlike anything I've seen before; and certainly very pleasing on the eye for I'm not the only one to notice. Pam, put your damn tongue back in your mouth before you fall over it for fucks sake. Also, she's caught the attention of pretty much every other vampire in here too. I watch her intently as she crosses the bar and makes her way to the door, so intently, until she begins to slow down that sensual, deliberate yet delicate walk, until she comes to a stop and then turns around and looks me dead in the eye from across the floor, the very effect I desired. With a quick curl of my finger in her direction I summon her over to me, and once again feel myself become slightly hypnotized by watching the way she moves. There's something very ethereal about it; about her.

'So, I take it everything was in order, figure wise?' I ask when she arrives in front of me where I'm sitting, the only figures on my mind right now being hers if the truth be known.

'Yes, all apart from your invoices for spirits which, for some obscure reason just will not tally up. I planned on coming in earlier tomorrow to give myself a little more time going over them, could erm, someone human be here to let me in say an hour earlier? The associate of yours who hired me on your behalf told me this would be a two day a week set up' she replies, adjusting the strap of the large bag she carries on her shoulder as she looks down at me without even a flicker of...anything. It's like who I am and what I represent means absolutely nothing to her; and I'm not sure if I like that.

'Well at least Godric didn't leave one of us totally in the dark' I mutter in reply, more to myself than her.

'Godric, wow, I haven't heard that name in a very, very long time' she then replies, making my head snap back up and then eye her with acute interest.

'I beg your pardon?' I ask her sharply.

'Oh, nothing, I had an imaginary friend named Godric when I was a little girl. It's nothing' she replies, smiling timidly and waving her hand in a dismissive way.

'How...sweet of you' I begin condescendingly, amused by such a pitiful memory. Imaginary friends, hah. Was she not able to make any real ones? How pathetic. 'I'll see to it that someone is here at 4pm to let you in tomorrow' I then add, before I'm approached by another woman, one with long black hair and too much red lipstick who steals my interest away from the blonde with just the right amount of makeup in front of me with the promise of what she's about to offer me, her neck. And so I pull her down onto my lap, sweep her hair from her neck with my fingers, and then realize Tyra is still standing there.

'You may depart now Miss Boden' I tell her coldly, smiling wickedly at her before sinking my teeth into the raven haired woman's neck, and hearing her begin to walk away. And not only do I hear it, I feel it too, like she's taking a huge part of the energy from the room with her too.

'Who are you? And more importantly, what are you?' I whisper as soon as I've finished feeding.

'I'm Tiffany, and I'm so hot for you its unreal' the woman sitting on my lap tells me, trying her very best to sound sexy. Ladies, desperation is never sexy. Not to a regular man, and certainly not to a vampire either. Take note.

'Not you dear' I reply cruelly, pushing her off me and eyeing her with repulsion as she picks herself up off the floor and starts to cry. I cannot bear it when humans become any more pathetic and snivelling than they already are. I need something to occupy my mind, before I start driving myself crazy thinking about that fucking Tyra Boden, and why she has something about her that's eating away at my brain, why Godric sent her here in the first place, why when she moves it makes me remember what my heart felt like when it's pace quickened at the sight of a beautiful woman, why there's something about her that already just draws me in. Humans don't excite me like that anymore, not after a thousand years. Well...they do to a point. But certainly not like how I feel when I watch that woman walk. Looking back out over the club I attract Kerstin's attention from behind the bar, the useless, clumsy human I begrudgingly employ (she does have her uses, but they all revolve around what she can do for me rather than what she can do for my bar; which isn't a lot) and then sit back and watch her walk over to me.

'You need to be here early tomorrow, quarter to four at the very latest. And if you're a very, very good girl for the rest of the night, I'll see to it that I make it worth your while' I tell her, watching her mouth curl into a smile before she gives me a fleeting wink.

'You got it boss' she replies before I wave her away with my hand and turn my attentions elsewhere. You have to be something pretty special to hold my attention for longer than five minutes if you're a human, which leads me to make a growl of frustrated displeasure when I see the clock and realize that Tyra girl has been on my mind for the last twenty...

Tyra's POV.

I have to confess something; I really am truly and genuinely shocked at myself right now. Well, rather myself a couple of hours ago when I first laid eyes upon my new boss. I'll be the first to say it, I've never, ever thought of vampires to be attractive, I mean they're dead for a start! And cold as stone, and just not human; and I like human. But HIM? Oh my dear lord he was GORGEOUS! Absolutely, totally and utterly gorgeous; but I don't want him though, no matter how attractive he might be the aforementioned reasons given mean I shan't lust after him. As well as the fact that I've always had the sense never to mix business with pleasure, and I definitely do not plan to start now either. No matter how devastating he is. He really does think a hell of a lot of himself too, and arrogance has never been a turn on to me. It amuses me more than anything. And I'd usually pin it down to a fierce, deep rooted insecurity, but that vampire is far from insecure. I got that impression very quickly, right off the bat in fact. Oh no, his arrogance is completely justified, he does look good enough to eat after all...but the fact that he eats us (or rather our blood) is really no turn on to me at all. Uh-uh, oh hell no. When they first came out of the coffin four years ago I was as curious as the next person over their existence, but unlike the many fang bangers there are out there I have no desire to be bitten by one either. I just don't find dead appealing.

Arriving home at just gone a quarter to eight I dump my stuff and strip off my skirt and shirt, throwing the latter in the wash and deciding the skirt is good for another wear at some point, folding it and hanging it back in my closet and pulling my tight fitting sweatpants out, and a plain black cotton long sleeve t shirt, sliding my cold feet into a pair of socks before heading back out into the lounge, grabbing my stuff and then going into the small room that leads off this one, my little office where I probably spend too much time staring at numbers on a computer screen for this client or that, just like I'm about to do now.

'Oh no, you fell again did you pretty lady?' I mutter to my huge African tribal mask, a female fertility symbol that I spent a hell of a lot of money on just a few months ago, money I wont see back if she falls off the wall again and breaks. I must get a more secure fixing to put her back up again, and until I do that I'll just prop her up against the wall I guess. It's supposed to be suspended from the ceiling to walk underneath of; to allegedly rain down energies onto the women of the house she's kept in and ensure their wombs are forever healthy and fruitful. I brought it because I thought it was unusual and beautiful, not because I want a fruitful womb since the idea of having children makes my skin crawl. I'm not the motherly type at all. And so after propping up the mask against the wall I take a seat at my desk and switch the computer on, ready to work into the small hours for yet another night no doubt. I don't know when to stop sometimes; I definitely fit the profile of a workaholic. One who has what others consider to be very weird ways of de stressing, such as the past time I indulge in approximately four hours later as I leave my office, my square eyes hurting, and tie my sneakers up before going for a midnight run through the forest that my home borders on the front of. And I know, I know what you're thinking too. 'Tyra, you're a twenty eight year old woman and you're going for a run through a dark forest all on your own, at 12.20am, are you mad?' And you'd be right to think that too, and to question my sanity.

But, I like the dark and for some reason I have very good vision through it too. I never fall and I never feel scared either, I just run and run and feel my whole body relax as I do it, the noises I hear through the forest never spook me out, never make me feel scared. It's just nature, animals live here and I've always just felt kinda at one with that. I don't assume just because a branch breaks behind me that someone or something is about to jump out and get me. But sometimes, just sometimes, that theory does test me.

'WHERE THE FUCK IS IT!'

'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH JESUS LAFAYETTE!' I scream in my ridiculously high pitched girly squeal as suddenly from behind a tree out pops the voice, and form of the tall, handsome (but sadly gay) Bon Temps cook who lives just opposite from me.

'ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!' he screams back, jumping about a foot in the air. 'You tryin' to give a nigga a damn heart attack honey child? Fuck I swear my heart actually stopped beating back there, shit!' he then exclaims, while I feel my own going ten to the dozen inside my chest.

'Sorry, but you were the last person I expected to see out in the forest at this hour!' I tell him, catching my breath as I do. Running for forty minutes flat out and then having the shock of your life tends to make you rather breathless.

'Bitch you in my back yard, the fence blew down in the storm last week' he replies, smiling although he sounds a bit pissed off.

'Well excuse me for trespassing, I really had no idea I'd done a whole circuit of the forest, damn that's shaved at least ten minutes off my usual time' I say, giving the air a little punch in triumph which makes Lafayette laugh a little.

'I guess that answered my question as to what the hell y'all doing out here then, but jogging at a twenty to one in the morning? Are all Swedish people as fucking crazy as you are?' he asks me.

'I can't answer for the rest of them, but you're not the first person to think my night runs are a little weird. I just like how peaceful it is, and I can see well in the dark too' I reply, opening the small bottle of water I've been carrying and taking a few gulps.

'Well I could use someone with sharp night vision right now so it's lucky you came along and scared my spirit clean out of my body, cast your eyes around and see if you can see a silver and red beaded bracelet, I lost it out here while I was tidying up the mess the storm made out of my fence. And if you find it, I might just have to invite you in for a drink as a reward' he replies with a smile.

'Sure, that'd be nice. I mean I live across from you, do the books for the bar you work in and yet I still don't really feel like I know you, but I have a feeling you're the kind of person I'd like to get to know' I reply. And that's true too, I like straight up people who say what they're thinking without reservation, and even though as I stated I don't know Lafayette very well, I do know he fits the mould as a straight up person from what I've seen so far.

'Well then get searching' he replies, casting his eyes down at the ground and picking up the torch he must have been holding before I came along and scared the crap out of him, searching around by his feet while I lift up one of the broken fence boards and look underneath it, narrowing my eyes and then seeing the tiniest of little glints and reaching out to pull a silver bracelet with lots of chunky hexagonal shaped beads covered in mud from the soggy little pile of mulch.

'Here, and mine's a gin on the rocks' I reply, dangling the bracelet off my finger and watching him straighten up to take it and smile gratefully.

'Thank you, and just for that you can have an unlimited supply of my Bombay Sapphire ice princess, shall we?' he says, holding out his elbow and pointing back up at his house with his other hand.

'Lets' I reply with a smile, taking the arm offered to me and walking back up the small yard with him and into his house, which is decorated very similarly to mine. It would appear this is common ground number two; as well as both being very straight up people, we both appear to like having a lot of 'stuff'; from plants to paintings, to carvings to incense, candles and oils burning.

'Take a seat anywhere you please while I fetch some ice' Lafayette tells me as we walk through his small kitchen, him hovering by the freezer while he points out into his lounge. And so I do, taking in the smells of patchouli and vanilla and weed, while I hear him breaking ice cubes out of their tray and then the tinkle of them being dropped into glasses, with him coming into the lounge and over to where his drinks are all displayed, pulling a bottle of gin out and also a bottle of Southern Comfort to fill the ice laden glasses with before joining me on the couch.

'So' he begins, picking up an ashtray containing a large rolled blunt and lighting it up, the air quickly becoming thick with bluish tinted clouds of marijuana smoke. 'The night jogging, how long you been doing that for? And ain't you scared? What with people like Renee and that fucking Maryanne around?' he then continues with, blowing smoke from his nose. Renee was a murderer who slotted quietly into our little community undetected for so long, and Maryanne a Maenad who caused total chaos while she was here, all with the eventual intention of a spiritual wedding using another person as a vessel (Sam Merlotte in this case) to offer herself to her god. That was pretty recent actually; she only met her end a week ago in fact. Yep, our world is a damn strange place since supernatural beings began to show themselves.

'Well, they're both dead aren't they? And besides, I just don't see why I should change the way I live my life just because of folk like them. I could get hit by a truck tomorrow you know? I don't see the point of hiding from life when the reality is, it could be taken from me at any second' I reply with a shrug, taking a sip of my ice cold gin. Ahhhhhh, heaven.

'I feel that, totally baby cakes. I really do get that logic, life is short, why not be and do what you want to do and be? You obviously are, I think that's the first thing I've found that's to really like about you. You are what you are and do what you will, it's refreshing' he replies, squinting through the smoke and smiling at me warmly.

'Same as you by the look of it, I have to say I love your style, dress and house. I'm impressed' I compliment him with, holding my glass between my knees while I give him a casual little round of applause, making him laugh softly.

'True, I am. Ain't no one else I'd rather be. So, talking of doing the things you wanna do I have to ask, what drew you to wanting to do sums for people all day long? No offense, but it sounds like a pretty boring vocation. But then again I ain't very mathematically smart' he inquires, taking a sip of his drink before putting it down on the table, and flicking the ash from his blunt into the blue glass ashtray.

'I've always liked math, I like how no matter what country you're in it's the one thing that's always the same regardless of the language barrier, there's something beautiful about that. I like it when things add up, I've always been good at it too. Grade A math student, pity I sucked at pretty much everything else at school!' I reply honestly. Math, chemistry, biology and physics were all I was ever good at, and always got A's or an A plus. I got C's for English and F's for art and the like. I couldn't even draw you a stick man; I'd probably draw the feet on the head.

'That makes perfect sense, and I like how you phrase it too, it being the same no matter what language you speak, that's a nice way to put it. But doesn't it ever get boring?' he asks me, with genuine interest.

'Tedious at times, especially when things won't add up and you have to sit and trawl through pages and pages of company accounts to find out why, just like I'm going to have to do for a new client of mine who owns a bar over in Shreveport' I reply, taking a sip of my drink and crunching on a half melted ice cube after I've spoken.

'It ain't Fangtasia is it?' he snorts with a certain amount of distaste.

'Yeah how'd you guess?' I reply, impressed.

'I wasn't guessing baby girl, I feared that it might be your answer more than anything. Because you're new boss just happens to be one of the most evil, conniving, dangerous and devious vampires around. That's why, so be careful sugar' he says, suddenly very serious, a fear lingering in his eyes a blind man could detect.

'So what have you got against Eric Northman then? He's not particularly friendly is he?' I reply.

'Not particularly friendly? You don't even know the half of it, he's plain nasty that dude, just plain fucking evil. I mean it, watch yo' self. Because if I've found out anything in just casually chatting to you over the last year, and only getting to know you a bit better now, I've deduced you're way too much of a nice person to get caught up with that motherfucker. And I mean that hooker' he tells me, using the term hooker with affection instead of malice though. And even though Lafayette has told me about my new boss in warning, for some reason I cannot help but to feel curious as to why he has that opinion of him. And yeah, I do know curiosity killed the cat...but as it happens tomorrow I'm going to find out a whole load more about Eric Northman, and why Lafayette thinks what he does about him too.

**Authors note - Nice to see it's had a few adds to story lists :) thank you for reading. Reviews are also very welcome!**


	3. Chapter 3

Tyra's POV.

'Hi, Eric sent me up to let you in' says a very out of breath and dishevelled looking Kerstin once she's opened the door to me at ten to four the next afternoon. And let me tell you, dishevelled is an understatement. With messed up hair, nail marks down her arms and a weeping bite at her neck, it's more than obvious to guess she's involved with Eric on a more intimate level than just employer and employee.

'Here's the office door key, he wants me back in the basement pretty quick so let yourself in' she then says, confirming what I thought as she passes me the zinc plated key and then runs off ahead and to the left, disappearing down a flight of stairs after slamming the door behind her. And even though that door is shut, and as soon as I walk into the office that door too, pretty soon the sounds of two people (well, one person and one vampire) in the throes of crazy sex come filtering up from the basement, Kerstin screaming her lungs out. Thank god for the i-pod, which I decide to jam in my ears and keep jammed in as I sit down and begin my work, losing myself in numbers and sums as I try and find why the bar is $200 down each week, every time there's a gap between tracks or a quiet lull in the song I can still hear them going at it so turn the volume up just a touch louder. Puccini is much more preferable. And now the noises of Kerstin sounding like she's being murdered have been drowned out nicely I continue to work, totally undisturbed by anything for the next half an hour as I go back through the accounts on the files stored on the office computer, until I can feel something behind me, a presence that is revealed when I feel my ear phone is pulled out and turn to see Pam standing behind me.

'Madame Butterfly, I was right, ahhhhhhhh, beautiful. You have exquisite taste Tyra, and I see that by yet another beautiful pair of shoes upon your feet too' she tells me, holding the earphone to her ear and looking a little blissful, and then suddenly and a little creepily (to me at least) beginning to stroke my hair as she looks down at me with a certain fondness. Erm...what the..?

'Erm, I don't mean to be rude but I don't like it when people touch my hair, let alone vampires I don't even know' I tell her as I pull away from her touch. I'm not scared of her, for some reason vampires just don't ignite fear in me, but I do feel uncomfortable with her petting of me. I'm not a fucking golden retriever.

'Sorry, but I just couldn't resist doing that for some reason. And I really don't think you should either. We could have a hell of a lot of good times together, you and me' she drawls slowly, staring me right in the eyes. Oh dear, lesbian alert. Not that I have any problem with people (or vampires) who prefer to bed the same sex as them, but it's not for me.

'I'm very flattered Pam, you're a very attractive vampire. But I'm not gay and I'm also not interested in vampires, sexually that is' I reply, watching her frown.

'Are you absolutely sure about that? You have no idea what you're missing. Well, I guess you do know since you're blocking out the sounds of it right now' she says, pointing down to the basement, where the loud noises of Eric and Kerstin enjoying themselves emanates from, still.

'I have a job to do, and it doesn't involve listening to my boss pounding a second hole into Kerstin's vagina' I reply, shocked when I see Pam actually snort with laughter for a brief moment before checking herself.

'There's something about you Tyra, definitely something about you. And I like it. Hell I never thought I could find anything to really like in a human, but you could be an exception' she tells me as she points at me, looking very thoughtful as she looks at the door and then back at me for a few moments, then leaves looking puzzled. Well that's a first; I've never been hit on by a vampire before. But even so, the few that I've met have always been very complimentary to me. Perhaps that's why I'm not scared of them, because I've only met amiable ones. Until I met Eric of course, although polite to a degree he seems far from the amiable type. At least to us 'lesser' humans; unless he's fucking them of course but anyway, what do I care? I don't, but I do care about why there's two hundred dollars a week being cashed through the register but the total cash takings balances not adding up for the last three weeks. There's a high percentage of spirits and mixers being vended, but only the mixer being accountable for, which leads me to believe someone is intercepting the bottles before they even reach the bar, yet ringing their sale through the register. Mr Northman, you have a thief on your hands. A very concerning thought; and something the man himself seems to be concerned about too, eventually at 8.10pm, over four hours since I arrived. Again, he enters the office through the second door behind me just like Pam did earlier so I don't see him come in, but I feel his presence there. And I can smell him too; because he stinks of a potent mixture of sex and Kerstin's perfume; which is actually pretty nice. But the nicest smell my nose detects is him, there's this clean smell about his skin that implants itself into my nostrils above any other aroma that lingers about him. And then I feel his hand rest on the back of the chair I'm sitting in, and then see him out of the corner of my eye as he leans over my shoulder.

'So, have you established why all this doesn't add up yet? I should certainly hope so, you've been here long enough and at $75.00 an hour you're not exactly cheap now are you Miss Boden?' he asks me as I see him turn his head to look at me.

'And with how many punters you have flowing through the doors of this place each night you're not exactly short of a few bucks, are you Eric?' I reply, turning to face him and once again, feeling that iron grip like hold on my breath when our eyes meet. And for a few seconds we just look at each other intently, and I can feel a mixture of annoyance yet curiosity coming from him as he keeps staring unflinchingly, before I feel a little uncomfortable and close my eyes, opening them to look back at the computer screen. Damn, he's too gorgeous for his own good. 'Yes, I've found a clear pattern of discrepancy; you've basically got two hundred dollars being rung through the till as spirits and mixer sales, except the cash balance doesn't tally up. The mixers do, so it points to the fact that someone's charging though a double measure of spirits with each soda vended. The actual alcohol isn't even reaching the bar. So in short...' I continue.

'...I'm being ripped off' he interrupts with, beginning to frown deeply. 'When, exactly? When did it start?' he then asks, sounding deeply angry, his words cut sharp and short with each syllable that passes his pale lips.

'Three weeks ago this Friday' I reply, watching him nod.

'Excuse me; I have to shower, then fire the little whore who I guess is behind this' he says, moving quicker than my eyes can detect out of the office again, leaving me to wonder who the culprit was, and why they'd be so stupid to try and pull a fast one over a vampire who obviously has one hell of a temper. And Mr Temper returns around fifteen minutes later, no longer with the lingering scent of copulation clinging to him, but that of shower fresh skin, his damp hair combed back from his face, his muscles bulging from the tight dark grey t shirt he wears. Walking over to the filing cabinet to the side and behind of the desk he opens the first tray, grabs a handful of little yellow slips (the kind the FedEx and DHL guys give you as your copy when they deliver a parcel to you) and then puts them down on the desk just to the side of where my arm is rested, fingers punching away figures into a calculator. I don't like or trust computer calculators; Cassio all the way thank you. He begins searching through them, pulling out a few here and there, and it's as he does it that I feel his arm momentarily brush mine, which causes my hand to suddenly jerk, hitting a six instead of a three on the calculator pad. The feeling of his cold skin invoked it, but I have to say it wasn't an unpleasant feeling that prompted the involuntary response from my hand. Quite the opposite in fact, it made that tiny patch of skin that touched his tingle very pleasantly. He then takes the small handful of slips he's sorted, puts the rest back in the filing cabinet and then reaches across the desk and picks up the phone, pressing the number two which has 'bar line' written in very small letters taped above the key.

'Deborah, send Kerstin to the office right away' he speaks into the receiver before putting it gently back in its cradle and moving around the desk to stand in front of it, leaning back against it and giving me a damn good view of a damn fine ass. Tyra, stop it. Not only is he a vampire he's also your boss; and it's definitely not good form to sit behind the desk checking out his behind either. So it goes without saying that I'm glad when the office door opens and Kerstin walks in, breaking my concentration on the very thing I'm not supposed to be concentrating on...the very thing who I can feel is growing angrier by the second.

'Kerstin, would you care to confirm that all of these are your signatures?' he says, almost in a monotone, while Kerstin swallows hard and stands up a little straighter. It's as she does that I see a collection of fang punctures just above her right nipple, her breasts escaping the corset she's wearing slightly and then disappearing again when she breathes out slightly.

'Yes, why?' she asks, looking at him nervously.

'Because they, amongst other evidence, confirm that for the last three weeks, which incidentally happens to be the amount of weeks you've been in my employment, there's been $200 dollars worth of stock a week that cannot be accounted for, because someone is stealing it, and that someone is you' he says, pulling a DVD from his back pocket and walking over to where there's a player and television and switching them on, sliding the disc into the slot and pressing play as the screen becomes clear, showing CCTV footage of the rear of the club. Looks like taking a shower isn't all he did when he left the office that short time ago. The screen shows the scene of Kerstin signing for the delivery, but leaving one case of bottles (bourbon I do believe) outside. Eric then forwards the disc a few minutes along before hitting play once more, a car driving up to the back of Fangtasia and a girl around Kerstin's age getting out, loading up the case of booze into her car, and driving away.

'Your car keys, now. And then you have approximately one minute to get the fuck off my property before I tear your arms from their sockets, am I making myself clear?' he tells her, so quietly the menace radiates off of him. Yet I myself, even though I can feel how intimidating he is, am not scared.

'What the fuck?' she splutters.

'You steal $600 dollars from me, I take something from you adding up to that value' he snarls in reply, looking more pissed off by the second.

'But my car is worth more than six hundred!' she protests, this time being shown no mercy for her petulance as Eric moves the four feet it takes him to get to her and grabs her hard around the throat with his hand, squeezing until she can't breathe.

'Don't kid yourself sweetheart, it's worth a grand at the very most, and I'll take the rest as interest. Now, give me the keys' he says slowly and with such coldness in his words I'm surprised icicles don't form in the air between them, the thin gap between the face of an enraged vampire and a terrified human. She thrusts her hand into her back pocket and pulls out her keys, holding them up for him and having her throat let go of when he takes them with a swift and small tug from off her index finger.

'I suppose you're the one who worked it out and told him right?' Kerstin says after Eric glares at her, probably hardly able to believe she hasn't scuttled off yet, as am I. Does she have a death wish or something?

'Any good accountant would have Kerstin, it wasn't anything personal' I tell her fairly but not particularly friendlily. I've never liked thieves.

'Oh fuck you, you bleached blonde piece of trash!' she suddenly screams at me, striding to the desk and putting her hands down on it, leaning over to scream the word 'trash' right in my face. Bad move. And not because of the huge vampire over in the corner, but because of me and my bad temper. Up I stand quietly, and out shoots my arm, my hand grabbing a handful of her long brown hair and pushing her head straight down, slamming it off the desk and holding it there while I lean down to her level and stare her right in the eye.

'My hair isn't bleached, and as for your 'trash' comment, don't ever, ever dare call me that again, or I'll break you little girl' I whisper to her dangerously as I push her head harder against the desk, staring at her intently before letting her go and sitting back down in my seat coolly as if nothing happened, and smiling at her as she looks shocked.

'Well that's twice you've been threatened by an irate Scandinavian in as many minutes, I'd leave now if I were you' Eric tells her, sarcasm practically dripping from his fangs, fangs he retracts just after Kerstin hurries out of the office.

'Stupid little whore' I mutter, in Swedish.

'Agreed' he replies, also in our native tongue just as the door slams shut.

'Sorry if that was out of line' I then say, back to English as I follow his eyes as they leave where they looked at the closed door and then scan across the room almost creepily until they reach mine.

'Don't be, I quite enjoyed it. Aggression is something I like very much' he replies slowly, smiling at me with interest.

'You liked that?' I ask with a little disbelief. And then suddenly, our shared stare at each other breaks for a nanosecond before it reconnects, with his face inches from mine as his rapid blur comes to a stop.

'I liked it so much it made my dick harder to see that than four hours of fucking Kerstin did' he tells me, reaching out and running his fingertip along the line of my jaw. 'Give me your hand and I'll show you' he then tells me, fangs popping out again as he leans in closer, his intense steel blue eyes not leaving mine for a moment. And this is the kind of gaze, the kind of moment I could seriously get lost in with someone as gorgeous as him. But, he's a client; and a vampire to boot. And it's just then that I realize I've become so dangerously lost in him I've failed to realize he has hold of my hand, and he's moving to his...

'Eric, no, I'm sorry but no' I tell him as I pull my hand away from his, pressing it with my other into his shoulders and trying to push him away, but finding I can't...because he isn't moving for anything, no matter how hard I try and push him away from me.

Eric's POV.

'What the hell are you Tyra?' I ask her, as I feel her hands begin to radiate gentle, warm energy where they press against me, making me feel something I'm in no rush to stop feeling right now, even though she's trying to push me away.

'I thought I was Miss Boden to you?' she asks me, tilting her head to the side slightly and looking at me with a single raised eyebrow.

'Cut the crap and tell me what you are. You're not human are you?' I demand, staring at her more intently as the energy coming from her hands just keeps getting stronger.

'I'm a human, and I'm leaving now. I suggest you get out of my way while you still have yourself a bookkeeper, but if you like I can keep on walking? Choice is entirely up to you, but no more trying to make me feel your cock okay? Vampires don't do it for me so you're wasting your time' she replies, before turning away and looking back to the computer screen, closing down files and acting so casually it's like I'm not even here any more. No (human at least) woman has ever refused me, and it's something that I do not like one bit. As well as the fact that familiarity I felt in her just grew by a thousand when she touched me. She's so familiar...

'So you've been with my kind before?' I enquire, standing up straight and folding my arms as I watch her gather her belongings together.

'No, as I said, you lot don't do it for me' she replies, sounding like she's not enjoying repeating herself.

'How can you know that unless you've had the experience?' I ask her, honestly wanting to know her reasoning. How can you know you don't like something if you've never tried it? That makes no sense at all.

'The prospect of being jumped by a corpse just doesn't appeal to me. There you have it, so please stop asking me and I'll see you next week' she replies firmly and finally moving past me and brushing my arm as she leaves, an action that makes all the hairs stand on end, and then lie flat as she leaves the room and once again I feel like all the energy has gone with her too. Like someone with a candle walking out of a totally pitch black room, taking the only source of light with them. What the hell is she? I need to know what it is about her that draws me in so much, what makes me feel that incredible energy that radiates off of her; to discover why Godric sent her to me. I feel already my impatience and insufferable need to know everything will get the better of me much quicker that it usually does too. But at the moment there's one thing I need to know more than anything, and that's where Tyra lives. So I access the computer, calling up all the files with my employees personal and banking details within and look for the file marked 'Tyra Boden' that Pam created last night to add her to the payroll. And speak of the devil.

'Where the hell is Kerstin? There a line at the bar two deep because there's only Deborah and Ginger on tonight. You've not sexually annihilated her again have you? Honestly Eric, when will you realize humans just cannot keep up with us in that way?' she says tersely, sweeping into the office and perching on the side of the desk to crane her neck and see what I'm looking at.

'I fired her ten minutes ago, she was pilfering alcohol from the bar. It was nothing to do with her sexual performance or stamina, not that either was particularly notable' I mutter in reply as I switch off the computer and stand up.

'So that's why you're off to see Tyra then? I must say I'm impressed at your speed, you usually wait at least forty eight hours before you lure them into bed, or into the basement that should be' she replies, knowing full well that's as far as any woman, vampire or human, will ever go. I don't invite them down to the floor below; they have no place in my home or bed. 'Well, I tried my luck already with that particular beauty and I can forewarn you now she doesn't find our kind attractive, which I must confess is the only thing I've found wrong with the woman so far' she then adds, checking her long fuchsia pink nails for imperfections before looking back at me.

'That isn't the motive of my visit though. There's something different about her, non human. Surely you've felt it too?' I ask her, watching her begin to nod.

'Yes, I suppose I have now you mention it' she admits.

'Well there you go' I reply, making a start to leave.

'It can't be just that Eric, I mean come on, the last human girl you got like this over was little Miss Sookie Stackhouse, and it took a substantially longer period of time for you to act on how differently she made you feel when she was around. Come on, tell me what else you know' she asks me, moving to stand between me and the door.

'When I know more, I will. And for your information, I'd stop myself if I possibly could. But the feeling I got from that girl just touching my shoulders was a thousand times more powerful than anything Sookie Stackhouse could ever invoke within me. I'll be back later, watch over the club' I reply, pushing her gently out of the way of the door and heading out, firstly back down to my apartment to collect my black leather jacket, and then straight out and in the direction of Bon Temps. The quicker I find out just what the hell she is, the better it'll be...for my sanity if nothing else.


	4. Chapter 4

**Authors note - Ask and thee shall receive! Thank you so, so very much for my reviews ladies, very thoughtful of you. So here we go, chapter four hot off the press! x**

Tyra's POV.

'Oh finally, look what comes crawling back through my door. Been having fun have we?' I ask my little cat Poontang (or Poon for short) as she jumps up on the counter in the kitchen and meows at me, sitting down and beginning to wash her paws. She's gone for days at a time usually, but I never worry about her, she's tough like her owner. She does need it explaining to her that she's not an alley cat when she lives on the fringes of a forest though, because that's exactly how she acts. She's a scrapper, again just like her owner. I have no qualms about knocking teeth out if I'm pissed off. As you will have witnessed earlier I have a nasty temper on me. Apparently my biological father was much the same.

'Here, I'll split it with you' I tell her, taking the can of tuna I've just opened and tipped over the salad I've just prepared (the closest to cooking I'll ever get since I refuse to do something I hate, and I hate cooking and all the food smells that linger after you're done) for my dinner, and emptying the other half into her bowl on the floor behind me, watching her hop down and begin eating it straight away while I take my plate and head out to the lounge, ready to spend a little quality time with the man in my life right now. Genghis Khan, a true barbarian. I don't know what it is that attracts me to danger and rage, to read about corruption and brutality; but I've always found it very interesting. I like to find methods to madness, pick inside the nature of evil and find out why it exists. And also I've always found beauty in the things most people do not, sympathy for those your ordinary Joe just wouldn't, or couldn't. For example, I'm no Nazi and I think the mass genocide of just a few million Jews was totally uncalled for, but towards the end of the reign of the Third Reich I felt an extreme sympathy for Adolf Hitler. The man had totally lost his mind, his agenda was in complete disarray at the hands of his Generals and he had nothing and no one to turn to other than a cyanide pill. I've read many, many books about The Fuehrer, and he was never as evil as people made him out to be in my opinion; he just became completely power mad and took his ideas way too far. Mr Khan however I cannot form the same opinion over; but he still fascinates me just as much. I accept that people are what they are, and that is that they aren't always good natured. But, I respect them for being themselves, no matter how wrong most people perceive that to be. They are what they are, and it's in my nature to accept them for that. I know, I'm not normal at all, am I?

Still glued to the pages of my book, reading about Khan's defeat of the Khwarezmian Empire in 1220AD I return my plate and fork to the kitchen, putting them straight into the sink and then turning to pull a bottle of water from the fridge I pad back out again, only to die of fright and drop both my book and the Evian on the floor when I see Eric standing on my porch, looking at me through the glass panel in the door.

'You don't give up, do you?' I ask him once I've stepped over my dropped items and opened the door to him, leaning against the frame as I fold my arms and just stare up at him, somewhere between amused and creeped out that my new boss, a man (well, vampire) I only met yesterday has turned up on my doorstep. Especially since he said I wouldn't be seeing much of him just over twenty four hours ago too.

'I'm not here to try and pursue you, well, at least not in the way you're thinking. As much as I know I'd enjoy it you've said no, and I can take no for an answer. Begrudgingly though, since I don't hear it often' he replies, his words casual, almost so lazy it's like he can't be bothered to speak them.

'Then why are you here?' I ask him, frowning a little. Just what is this guy's problem? Does he always contradict his words and actions at every turn? Because right now his eyes aren't even on mine, he's staring right at my damn chest. Stupid hindsight, why the hell did I change to such a low cut, tight fitting t shirt when I arrived home? Ahhhhh yes, because I wasn't expecting the strange dude I work for to turn up and start starting at my tits like their on the vampire lunch menu, that's why. 'And for your information, my eyes are up here' I then add, reaching out and touching my index finger under his chin and lifting his head until his eyes fall on mine again, and his hand slaps mine away from his face like lightening.

'Don't. If you don't want to touch me where I want you to, I'd rather you didn't do it at all' he tells me, sharply yet so quietly. If I was of lesser substance I'd find him intimidating about now...but it just doesn't happen. Strangely, I find it kind of sexy.

'And I'd rather not be standing here having to ask the same question three times in a row. Why are you here?' I ask him, watching him starting to frown deeply, four lines creasing his otherwise perfectly smooth forehead.

'You know, I'm not entirely sure why. But there's something about you, and I intend to find out what it is, and soon' he replies, looking very thoughtful as he stares right at me, his gaze only intensifying in the silence we share. He has one hell of a powerful stare, one that for a moment makes me wonder if my decision to ban all vampires from my bed is such a wise one after all. 'Because there's something about you that isn't human; I could never, ever be as fascinated over what you are if you were just a mere mortal' he then finishes with, leaning closer to me, his stare now so powerful it makes my knees begin to knock a little.

'Eric, take my word for it, I'm just a person with no unique powers or anything else that makes me remotely special. My only gift is the fact I can add up sums quickly in my head, oh and I'm fast runner and a real mean shot with a long bow, but that's about it' I reply, hoping to somehow get him to leave, yet somewhere inside...not really wanting him to. What the HELL is wrong with me?

'You're a fan of archery?' he then asks me, his interest somewhat prickled it would seem.

'Very much so, are you?' I reply and ask.

'A long bow was the first weapon I was taught to use' he replies, prickling my interest and THEN some. If a long bow was the first weapon to use, just how old is he? Hang on, he's Swedish...so that means he could be...oh my...I swear to god, I'll orgasm on the spot if he's a...

'Were you a Viking?' I ask him sharply, sounding quite desperate for an answer.

'Technically I still am I suppose' he replies. Boom. There it is. An instant feeling of something like an orgasm rippling through my guts, as there stands an actual Viking in the flesh, one of the most savage and barbaric breeds of men to walk and fight across my homeland back in the ancient times. Oh my fucking Jesus fucking Christ fucking fuck! I should probably tell you now, in case you haven't already guessed, Vikings are a major turn on for me; or at least the idea of them since I never thought I'd meet one, for obvious reasons. And well, there he is, smirking at me right now; looking at me so intently I can feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

'I take it you like that piece of information? Much more than the fact I'm a vampire it would seem' he tells me, leaning down closer to my 5ft 9 level, raising one eyebrow I recognise to be one of the same enquiring things I do too.

'I might, still doesn't change anything though, and it still doesn't mean I'm going to invite you in if that's what you were hoping for. See you next week, Mr Northman' I reply, smiling thinly and then turning to shut and lock the door behind me, locking the heavier wooden door behind the glass swing door and Eric out of sight, turning to pick up the water and book I dropped and heading back into the lounge, where I sit with my heart beating like a jackhammer in my chest. I had to shut the door when I did, or I'd have done something very, very stupid on total impulse I think...

Eric's POV.

'Aha, methinks I've found a weak spot. Excellent' I think to myself as I fly back to the club, coming to a stop in front of the door and walking in through the back entrance, and then out into the main hub of activity inside the club, taking my usual seat but zoning out from everything around me, as I try to think back over the many supernatural creatures to exist, and try and match ones that transmit this...beautiful energy she has. But there's the thing, that alone isn't enough to go on, and this frustrates me greatly. Not the first thing that'll do that tonight either it would seem. I know for definite now too that she isn't human, since I stood there trying to glamour her and it just wouldn't work, similar to how Sookie cannot be glamoured either. But as I stated to Pam earlier, the pull I feel toward whatever Miss Stackhouse may or may not be (we have our suspicions) is nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing to that feeling of energy that radiates from Tyra, that I felt flowing into me when she touches me, when I touch her. Even something as simple as running my finger across her jaw made me feel the greatest energy I think I've ever felt, causing a million thoughts as to why to continue to tumble into my head. Whatever she is, she's powerful, to have this much of an effect on a vampire as old and strong as I, and in such a short space of time seals the fact that whatever she is, it's something big. Why else would Godric have sent her to me? And, speaking of Godric...

'There's a man outside who wants to see you, shall I send him to your office?' Deborah, my club manager/dancer/sometimes play toy asks me as she approaches me.

'Name?' I ask as I look up at her slowly.

'Greg Dixon, one of Godric's associates from area 6' she replies, while I nod and jerk my head in the direction of the office.

'Send him in; tell him I'll be along shortly. And by the way, are you doing anything after you finish?' I drawl, noticing she looks particularly delectable tonight. My appetite for sex wasn't quite quenched after four hours with Kerstin earlier. Deborah can help me out there.

'By the look on your face right now might I be right in guessing I'll be doing you?' she replies, smiling as she touches her tongue to her top lip briefly, brown eyes narrowing as her smile widens.

'No, that's incorrect. I'll be doing you. I'll see you down in the basement at 3am. Don't be late' I tell her, reaching out to give her wrist a small tickle with my finger. Not that I have much tolerance, patience or general acceptance or like of humans, but Deborah is more tolerable than most. Mainly because she can get all nine inches of my cock into her mouth at the same time more than any other reason. Also because she and her family have been secret keepers for vampires for generations, so she can be trusted too. And she doesn't do what a hell of a lot of human women try to do, and that is make me their boyfriend. If I was ever to have a relationship with a female (which I wouldn't, I have no want or need for companionship on that level) she certainly would not be a human. They bore me too much, and they grow old and haggard too. Not very appealing at all, so I'm glad that Deborah openly tells me 'I'm only interested in you for what you have south of your waist Eric'. She's an unashamed slut, very similar to myself in that respect. And now, to see what Mr Dixon wants with my time.

'So, how can I help you?' I ask him once I've wandered down into my office and sat behind the desk.

'This is just a quick visit; I was entrusted to deliver this to you by my Sherriff in the event of his true death' Dixon replies, clasping a very old, heavy looking wooden box, deep in capacity but only about two by one foot in size, placing it down on the desk in front of me, before nodding curtly and exiting.

'Wait. There's no key for this box, which deems it a pretty useless delivery and a waste of both my time and yours if it cannot be opened' I reply, watching him come to a stop and turn again at the door.

'He said you'd have the key already, and if you didn't you'd find it soon enough. Will that be all Sherriff?' he replies, hand reaching for the door knob.

'Yes, go' I reply, my attention falling back onto the box, not noticing him leave at all as I sit and stare at it, feeling fury beginning to build up inside me. I have no keys that aren't for the bar, my car or my home. Why the hell is Godric playing games with me from beyond the grave? WHY? Denying me of the rest of my existence with him there was enough, why is he doing this to me now? Taunting me effectively with his fucking games, sending strange women to me that he states are of more value than I know, and bequeathing me items I have no clue how to open, Pandora's Box here in front of me being said item. This is not the behaviour I've come to expect from him, and does absolutely nothing to quieten the chaos in my head as to why he's doing this, it only adds to it. And so after picking up the box and taking it down to store away safely in my home I decide that 3am is going to come early tonight, and fire off a quick text message to Deborah, before stripping off my clothes and going back up to the basement, where I only have to wait a few mere moments for her to arrive too.

'You know where I want you' I tell her, moving her hair from her neck and kissing it just once before she sinks to her knees and starts giving me head. Sometimes, when everything supernatural starts to fuck with your head, you need a human to take your mind off things for a while. It's one of the few purposes they can serve pretty well, but even the delectable Deborah cannot keep my mind swayed away from all the mess Godric has implanted in there for longer than about three hours, when I grow bored of her and send her on her way, retreating back down a level and just sitting down on the couch, the light of one lamp I switched on in the corner illuminating the brass fixtures and hinges on the box I placed at the other end of the couch, staring at it, willing it to open in front of me, needing to know what the hell is inside it, and why Godric didn't bother leaving me a key. Just all these clues, clues I am frustrated to say I cannot work out. I get the measure of people and situations very, very quickly. Give me two seconds to stare at you and after one I will have worked you out. That's the kind of vampire I am, one who receives the answers to his questions.

'Patience my child, patience' I suddenly hear behind me, from a voice that fills me with the kind of emotions no other ever could.

'Godric?' I say out loud, flying up out of my seat and turning to be met with nothing, of course...

'Varför er du gör den här till jag?' I then mutter to myself, Swedish for 'why are you doing this to me? Why is he doing this to me?

Tyra's POV.

'One Goodyear blimp delivered right to your door, now let me the hell in so I can rest my swollen ankles' My best friend (or one of two, her boyfriend Dmitri being the other) Anna tells me as I greet her on my porch with a hug, one that wont stretch all the way around her middle right now, as there's too much pregnancy in the way.

'Follow me big mamma' I reply, giving her arm and affectionate stroke and bending to give her bump a kiss as I show her in, and to the nearest chair she looks very glad to sit in once we've arrived in the lounge.

'Oh god that's better! And is that strawberry and nettle tea I smell? Wow, you've really outdone yourself' she replies with a little sarcasm as she sits down, rubbing her stomach affectionately as she slips her shoes off her feet.

'Yup, see how much of a good friend I am, I buy you in things I hate the smell of just because I know you love them. I wouldn't do that for just anyone' I chuckle, heading out into the kitchen to pour her tea, and a black coffee for myself. Black coffee, water, the occasional fruit juice and red wine are about all I drink, I'm very organic like that. Except Guinness, but I'll only drink it if it's been bottled over in Ireland and imported in, where it tastes better than it does anywhere else in the world. Anna and I actually discovered that when we went away on vacation to Dublin about five years ago, before she met Dmitri her part Russian, part Louisianan boyfriend and settled down and became boring. I'm joking, she's not boring, just because I don't want to feather a nest and make babies doesn't mean she's boring because it's what she now wants. But we had some crazy times and a lot of fun together back in the day, and we still do now I guess. Except she's on the soda when we go out, and can't last beyond midnight, which I can well understand since she's the size of a zeppelin right now, poor thing!

'Oh I'm fully aware of that honey, and thank you I've needed this since about 2 o clock this afternoon!' she says, thanking me warmly as I pass her the tea I'm carrying, and then go and sit opposite her on my lovely big couch, having a (and strangely present for more than five minutes) Poon curling up on my lap for a little nap as soon as I'm sat down.

'So how did it go looking for the perfect stroller?' I ask her. You might think leaving it until you've got three weeks before you give birth a little late to be buying everything you're going to need for your first born, but Anna just happens to be one of the most indecisive people I've ever met. Dmitri is just as bad too.

'We found it and ordered it, along with all the other little bits we need too, so come February 23rd we're going to be fully prepared for the little one's arrival. But right now I'm actually hoping she comes early, I'm so fucking uncomfortable and still only sleeping for four hours a night' she replies, blowing the steam that rises from her (very smelly) tea and taking a careful sip.

'Awww now you're making me feel guilty, I should have come to you' I reply.

'No, no! I was out anyway so don't you dare feel bad. I hate being stuck at home too so you've done me a favour inviting me over. Besides, I needed to see you before the Deicide gig anyway to make sure you watch Dmitri behaves himself. Please, since you're not a big drinker, please don't let him get slaughtered and then come home in a state I'll have to drag up the stairs' she says, laughing a little as she obviously remembers one of her boyfriend's drunken moments. She's referring to the fact that Deicide, a death metal band the three of us like are playing a show here in two weeks time, and since she's obviously too heavily pregnant to attend it me and Dmitri are going together, with me acting as chaperone more than anything I think...the big Russian fella does love his beer.

'Don't worry, when I'm not throwing people around in the pit I'll be keeping my beady eyes right on him, make sure he doesn't attempt to drink his own bodyweight in imported beers' I reply, making her laugh.

'Thanks for that. So anyway how's work going?' she asks me, setting her tea down on the table by her side.

'Fine, busy as ever. I'll be back into my lair as soon as you leave to keep on number crunching' I reply. And although I'm enjoying some time with one of my favourite people on earth, I'm itching to get back to my work and get it all done already, and I only stopped for a break ten minutes ago. I have to say I was awake for most of the night, wondering if there was a big vampire still lurking outside my house. And, speak of the devil...

'Didn't you mention something about having a new client over in Shreveport? How's that going?' she asks me politely.

'Erm, yeah, it's going okay. Just as long as my new boss keeps his hands to himself and doesn't turn up on my doorstep like he did last night' I reply as I sip my coffee, disturbing Poon when a drip misses my lips and lands right on her head. I wipe it away and fuss her while she stares up at me with certain displeasure in her lovely green eyes.

'Oh, got a touchy feely one have we? And as for turning up at your house, dude what the fuck? Does he not know the stalker effect gets no one very far?' she asks, after snorting out a little laugh.

'It's a bit more complicated than that, which is weird since I only started working for him two days ago. He's a vampire for one thing, and one that doesn't like the word 'no' for an answer, and also one who seems to think I'm not a human too' I reply, watching my friends face change to a 'whaaaaaat?' kind of look.

'Okay, this dude sounds seriously weird, really. Not human? So if you're not a person, what does he think you are?' she replies, sounding like she's stuck between feeling amused and worried for me.

'He doesn't know, and I think that's what's bothering him. Or rather he's trying to find excuses as to why he's more attracted to a human than he has been before, which is what I expect it is because, erm, I KNOW I'm human. He doesn't like us much though, other than for things such a sex and feeding on of course. But no, I dunno what his problem is, or why he's so damn interested in me. And last night I just brushed it all off, wasn't remotely interested in him at all. Until I discovered he's a fucking Viking of all things' I reply, watching Anna's mouth drop open, and then a huge booming laugh come flying out.

'OH MY GOD! You're in trouble now!' she squeals with mirth, hand slapping her thigh a few times as she explodes into hysterics. I'm glad she finds it so damn funny. 'So hang on a minute that must make him what? A thousand years old? Ewwww, that's kinds gross' she then adds.

'Yeah, it is a little. But you haven't seen him, he's gorgeous. And I don't mean just a little bit either, I mean, WOAH, WOW. LOOK AT HIM gorgeous. And the Viking thing, well, its temptation staring me right in the face. But, he's still a vampire, and cold and dead still just doesn't do it for me' I reply, watching her give me an enquiring look.

'But he's a Viking Tyra, the one breed of man you've lusted after and had no hope of ever getting to have a little fun with, until now that is. And you're right; he is temptation staring you right in the face. But I do know you keep business and pleasure separate, and all I can say to you is good luck keeping it that way with the information you now know. You do know that vampires can do that glamour thing and have total control over your mind, don't you? What if he does that to you and has his wicked way with you and you never remember? Or what if he's just too sexy to want to turn down if he tries it on with you again? They're supposed to be very, very forceful in the pursuit of what they want' she replies, picking up her tea again for another sip, and wincing as she holds a hand to her stomach, pained at her daughters' busy feet it would seem.

'I will remain in control as I always am. Yes, the Viking thing is tempting, too damn tempting if I'm honest. But I'm just not interested in anything Eric Northman has to offer me other than a job, and he's just going to have to get used to that' I reply, as Anna cuts me up almost straight away.

'ERIC NORTHMAN, OH MY GOD!' she shouts at me, reaching out to slap my foot a few times while her jaw swings off its hinge again, and I look at her like she's gone mad. How does she know who Eric is? He doesn't exactly integrate himself with humans, and I know for a fact Anna has never been to Fangtasia before.

'How do you know...' is as far as I get before my loud friend interrupts me again.

'Remember my friend Kathy Sloane from school? The girl you didn't get on well with? Well, I remember I was having coffee with her about a year ago and saw she had these two puncture marks on her neck, so I asked about it, and she confided that 'a beautiful vampire' as she called him named Eric Northman had paid her $500 to bite her, and that him just biting her neck and feeding on her was the single most erotic experience of her life, and he didn't even touch her, just bit, sucked, paid her and told her to fuck off' she replies, while I snicker.

'Sounds like Eric' I reply, suddenly and very strangely zoning out for a moment as my brain digests her comment about Kathy finding being bitten by him to be just a touch more than highly erotic. And then my mind takes me back to standing just a foot away from him on my porch last night, daydreaming the pretend scenario of him leaning down to my neck, kissing it a few times, and then the feeling of his fangs piercing...

'TYRA! Come back sweetie!' Anna shouts, snapping her fingers in front of me, Poon leaping from my lap and deciding between the coffee dripping and all the shouting she'd rather sleep elsewhere. Can't say I blame her.

'You want him, don't you?' she asks knowingly.

'NO!' I reply, aghast.

'Fucking liar' she chuckles, finishing her tea and heaving herself up out of her chair. 'No, my ass has gone to sleep, and I can rectify that by going and putting the kettle on again, and leaving you to your Eric related daydreams' she then adds, holding out here hand for the coffee cup I pass her, and gently pushing me back down into my seat when I make a start to get up and do it for her.

'I wasn't daydreaming' I reply, frowning at her before she walks away.

'For the second time, fucking liar' she throws over her shoulder as she walks off to the kitchen.

'Whatever biatch' I scoff, laughing softly through my nose. I do not fancy Eric Northman, no. No, no, no, no...ye...NO!


	5. Chapter 5

Tyra's POV.

'Here, I suffered the company of loud humans, and the god awful smell of that stuff to bring you this' Pam tells me, a week after I began working for her maker, technically my third day working here at Fangtasia, since I only do two days a week. She's just pushed a large takeout coffee across the desk I'm sat at, a somewhat crooked smile upon her lips.

'That's very thoughtful of you, thanks Pam' I reply, taking the coffee from her and yawning once more.

'Oh I do want something in return for it, and that is to tell me what the hell you were up to last night that's got you yawning so much at 5.30pm the afternoon afterwards' she replies curiously. And so, since she's actually making an effort to be friendly to me it would seem, I decide to tell her. I dunno, I kind of pick up on the fact she doesn't have many friends other than Eric, and seems to have taken an interest in me for this reason perhaps. So I indulge her.

'I had a date' I confide, watching her pull a 'oh really?' kind of face, looking very interested as she pulls up a chair and sits down on the other side of the desk.

'Then do proceed to tell this old vampire all about it' she says with a certain amount of crafty mischief in her voice. 'Come on, you might not think I'd find interest in this, but I do. Eric's no fun, he doesn't do dates; he's much more of a 'drag them off by their hair' kinda vampire' she adds with a little smile.

'His name is Darren; he's twenty six so a couple of years younger than me. Tall, athletic, hard working and so damn funny had me in hysterics until 6am this morning' I reply, watching Pam nodding, turning her hand in a circular motion to indicate she wants me to keep going.

'And where did this Darren take you?' she then asks, before adding 'had you in hysterics until 6am? Damn, where are his priorities? If I had a lady like you in my company and home in the small hours, I certainly wouldn't be thinking of my comedy routine'.

'He came back to my place, and believe me he had those same thoughts as you obviously do on his mind. But I'm not easy in ANY sense of the word. As for where he took me, the standard and boring dinner and a movie, but he let me chose the movie so at least he scored points there for himself' I reply, watching her nod.

'Humans, so lacking in original ideas, I don't know why you bother with them, you should stick to your own kind, whatever that is' she replies with a sniff, examining her nails, painted a beautiful shade of midnight blue today. That's something I've noticed about Pam, she takes extreme pride in her appearance; she's very much a lady in that respect.

'I am as far as I know' I reply, watching her beginning to shake her head.

'We'll find out what you are, for definite. Because you just cannot be human, I wouldn't be sitting here with you indulging in idle banter right now if you were. Ask the girls who work here, I hardly talk to them. But you? You're something very, very different' she replies, her eyes glittering at me across the desk as I take the lid off the coffee she purchased for me and take a good gulp.

'Well I fail to see what all the fuss is about, but I still maintain I'm just a person' I reply, setting my coffee back down again and going back to the spreadsheet I'm looking at, trying not to gag at the fact the drink has milk in it, but thankfully no sugar.

'See I'd say the same for all intents and purposes, but I think I'm starting to lean nearer the same school of thought as Eric. You're company isn't nauseating enough for you to be human' she replies, still pressing this crazy feeling she and her maker seem to have. Vampires huh?

'Speaking of his lordship, how's his health and temper this week? He isn't going to be following me home again is he?' I ask, adding a few figures together and typing their total in the blank cell.

'I wouldn't know darlin', the last time I saw him was in the small hours last Friday morning when he had his face lost between Deborah's legs down in the basement. So technically, I didn't see much of him' she replies with a small, dirty laugh, that then fades away as she begins to frown. 'I'm a little worried about him, truth be told' she then adds.

'Pam, not to sound like a nauseating human too much here, but if you need someone to talk to, I'm sat right here' I tell her, reaching out and patting her hand, and to my complete shock having her flip hers over and give my fingers a little squeeze. That just seemed way too much of an intimate gesture for a vampire to me there.

'Thanks, I have my suspicions about what his disappearance is over, but it's his business and I cannot divulge it' she replies solemnly, her obvious affection for Eric and her pride in keeping his secrets shining through.

'That's fair comment' I say, feeling myself begin to wonder what the reason behind Eric not being around for the last week is, and why she's worried for him. I don't know why I care; I think its more curiosity than anything else. Eric doesn't seem to be the kind of vampire who'd possibly act in a way that'd worry others (unless he's after a prick upon their arteries of course), so it's strange for a vampire, an apparent emotionless creature, to be sitting here looking genuinely concerned for him. 'Look, if you're that worried why not just call him and see where he is?' I then broach, watching her shake her head.

'I know where he is darlin', he's downstairs and has been for the last six days. God fucking knows when he's going out to feed. But see, if he wanted to talk about anything or see anyone he'd make himself present. After a hundred years together I know him better than most, and I know if he wants to be in company he'll find it. I never go looking for him when he doesn't want to be found' she replies with a slight sigh, getting up and going back to what she was doing when I arrived, sorting through old paperwork at rapid, rapid speed.

'You almost make it sound like he's your husband' I comment, adding together a large total for last Saturday's takings.

'You know, he feels like it sometimes. I mean we have the same fundamentals, we argue a lot and we don't have sex' she replies, making me laugh, my funny bone well and truly tickled.

'Well whatever it is that's up with him, I hope it sorts itself out soon, if anything else to ease your worry' I reply.

'That's kind, thanks. Just don't overdo it, I'm enjoying the company of someone who isn't so sugary sweet your teeth get cavities by just sitting in the same damn room as them!' she exclaims, her hand dropping down a pile of papers into the big shredder at the side of her chair.

'Duly noted' I reply, before pulling out my I-phone and calling up Ebay. All employees of Fangtasia are forbidden to use the office internet connection for anything other than work, so I sit and tap away on my cell instead, calling up my watched items to put in a final bid on the pair of shoes I have fallen in love with, that I need to complete my outfit for my second date with Darren this coming Friday. I met him about two weeks ago when I swung by Merlotte's for a quick glass of wine and a chat with one of the local farmers about doing his bookkeeping, and well, there was Darren, all 6ft 2 of him, eyeing me with an interest I returned when my meeting with said farmer was finally over and he came over to introduce himself. Yes, even though the first date of a mundane dinner and a movie didn't meet my somewhat high expectations, his promise of taking me to a gorgeous Chateaux just outside of Bon Temps to sample some of 'the best Beaujolais ever bottled' was enough to make me agree to date number two. And if that wasn't his gorgeous chocolate brown eyes and wide smile sure as hell were.

'Do not bid on those!' I suddenly hear Pam say sternly, reaching out her hand and grasping my wrist to get my attention. 'Wait' she then instructs me, before literally tearing out of the office, returning about ten seconds later with the very same pair of shoes I'm bidding on in her hands. 'Size seven right? Here, borrow them' she then adds, while I smile up at her in surprise.

'Are you sure? This is all very kind of you Pam, or is this all just some ruse to get closer to me and 'find out what I am'? I ask her, a little wary of her motives all of a sudden. She just shakes her head and smiles.

'For the first time in a hundred years I've found someone I like being nice to, so take that for the huge compliment it is. And also note this; I'm not the vampire you have to be suspicious about, let me lay those cards right on the table for you. I'm as much of my own person now that I'm a vampire as I was when I was still human. And if that means I want to make a friend, I want to do it for me, not to find out what she is and go running back to my boss to tell him. Chill out Tyra, and enjoy the shoes' she replies in her usual flat monotone (pretty much how most vampires talk, they're words sound dead), winking and then grabbing the last pile of papers she's sorted, feeding them into the shredder and then checking her watch. 'Right, I have twenty minutes until the doors open, I must leave and go and pour myself into something suitably tight and shiny to greet the punters in' she says to excuse herself, leaving the office again just as quickly as she entered it, and leaving me two hundred dollars up because of her kind loan of the lovely red velvet strappy pumps.

Pam's POV.

You know, in the last one hundred years since I was made, human companionship on any level has been something I haven't sought. I'm a vampire, which means I no longer think like a human, even though I am a lot more human in nature than vampires like Eric, and others I could care to mention. This is why I really am starting to lean towards what Eric is so adamant about; that Tyra is not a human at all. Because if she was, I wouldn't be interested in being her friend at all, and I wouldn't feel this...weird energy I feel when she's around too. I feel it if I touch her or she touches me too (as Eric has also stated he's noticed). It's like she can transmit this really beautiful, euphoric energy. When she put her hand on mine earlier I felt it, like someone was pouring stardust or something else you humans equate to prettiness and light into my hand. It was strange, but oh so nice. I felt just a touch more powerful for a second too, like she was charging batteries that I actually don't have. Weird; anyway enough of little Miss unidentified beautiful supernatural creature upstairs; it's the very big identified vampire here downstairs who draws my concern at this moment.

I think I've deduced why he's locked himself away, one word; Godric. If anything (and believe me the instances are far and very few between) ever effects him like this he hides it so well you'd never know. His general demeanour is so stoic that you just wouldn't notice. He does have some emotions though, trust me he does. He just hides and suppresses them very, very, VERY well, until he forgets they're even there. I know all this because of the fact my blood flows through his veins, and I can feel right now what he's feeling. He's tormented, angry, annoyed and just a touch lonely too. Even though he hadn't seen Godric in over thirty years, I know his demise is hitting him a hell of a lot harder than he'll ever even admit to himself, let alone to me.

Coming to a stop down in the old bunker I walk down the hallway, past my apartment and onto the door that opens into Eric's. This place used to be the biggest weapons store and underground gun club in the whole of Louisiana before it closed in 1980, when Eric purchased it. And right down here in the bowels of the building, was an underground shooting range, and a fucking big one at that. Yes, for twenty years if you wanted to fire anything at an inanimate target, from an ordinary hand pistol or air gun, to an M-16 or a .50 AE Desert Eagle, this is where you came to do it safely. Every American has the right to own and operate a gun, and the clever previous owners ducked and dodged a hell of a lot of Shreveport bylaws on safety and gun usage in a public place by constructing the range way down here, out of harm's way (unless you happened to be one of the targets that got shot at by enthusiastic gun club members every day). We completely gutted it and turned it into two living spaces (Eric's naturally bigger than mine), living down here quietly and operating the bar above until our presence in this world had the spotlight shed upon it, and we came up and out into the open, turning the bar into 'Fangtasia' and cashing in greatly on the whole vampire obsession. It's made Eric a million per year in clear revenue since we reopened it as a vampire bar four years ago. Not bad huh?

'So, are you coming out at all this week?' I say after I've reached Eric's door and tapped it with my knuckle a couple of times.

'Come in Pam' I hear him say, and proceed to open the door and let myself in, the light from hundreds of candles dotted around everywhere, wax pouring off them into the dishes they sit in, or onto the floor or lesser highly regarded pieces of furniture in some cases, with Eric lying shirtless on the couch, dressed only in a pair of very dark blue jeans, and also wearing a heavy frown, one hand draped across a smallish wooden box atop his stomach.

'So, why did Pandora trust you with the box?' I ask as I move closer through the vast space at a slow walk.

'If she had then it'd be a simple conscious choice whether to open it or not. With no key, and no visible means of breaking into it, and yes I've tried, its contents just will not be revealed to me either way. And it's driving me mad' he replies, looking down at the said unbreakable storage receptacle and running his thumb over a natural knot in the wood finish before picking it up and putting it down on the floor, frown still attached to his forehead.

'This self seclusion has more to it than just not being able to open a box though. And I know what it is too, but I have more respect for you than to broach it. I just wondered if I would be seeing you upstairs any time soon' I tell him once I've reached the foot of the couch, watching his eyes move away from the candles he was staring at to meet mine.

'Thank you for your concern. I'll probably be around later' he replies in his usual hushed tone, with an air of finality I pick up on and decide to leave him to it. I know when I'm welcome in his presence and when I'm not by now, and right now I know all the company he wants is his own. It was only a week and a half ago that he lost his maker after all, no matter how strong, how solid, how mentally sure, confident and steely he may be; losing someone who made you what you are, who you shared a bond that went beyond friendship for a thousand years with, has to have some effect. And even though at first he just behaved like his usual self, I sensed something was ticking away inside him, a need to be alone for a while and do his usual routine of suppressing until he just forgets. Because that's exactly what he's going to do; not forget Godric, but forget how it felt when he lost him.

And as I walk back down the hall and let myself into my own residence I put myself in his shoes, and what it'd feel to lose him and then times it by a thousand...and then swiftly decide as I buckle up the purple PVC dress I plan to wear that Eric can surface whenever he likes, just as long as he really is himself again when he does, and not mourning or worrying over the contents of boxes. Deborah told me it'd had been delivered by someone from area six, so I can only naturally assume that also has something to do with Godric too. Why he's obviously been given no key for it is a total mystery to me though.

Eric's POV.

I must confess, after secluding myself for six days and nights, only surfacing at speed to hunt, feed and return without anyone seeing me again, I feel better. Yes, still annoyed by the cryptic tangle Godric has left me in some small way, but now determined, determined to get to the bottom of this, this obvious task he has left for me. The time to grieve has ended long ago, and any residual feelings of it must just be channelled into finding out what it is that's in the box exactly, and what the bookkeeper upstairs is exactly. I can't help but wonder that perhaps the two are connected; neither has been presented to me in a straightforward way, and both harbour elements I cannot see yet. And it's then that an idea presents itself to me, and after throwing myself off the couch and speeding over to my bed area (I don't have a bedroom, only the bathroom is sealed off in this one level giant space) to pull the first thing my hand falls on out of the chest of draws, I pull the charcoal grey sweater on, add a pair of socks and shoes to my attire, pick up the box of annoyance and then fly out, coming to a stop in the office, where Tyra sits, looking even more beautiful than my minds eye remembered.

'I remember last week you told me of two talents; math and archery. I don't suppose you have anything that could extend to lock picking too have you?' I ask her as I walk to her side behind the desk, and put the box down in front of her.

'Well hello to you too' she replies sarcastically, arching an eyebrow at me.

'I'm in no mood for smart comments' I snarl in reply.

'I wasn't being smart, calm down' she replies with a small laugh.

'Don't fucking mock me Tyra, just open the damn box' I reply, moving inches away from her face and glaring at her, feeling my anger rise when she gives me an 'are you for real?' sort of look.

'No' she replies boldly, moving her own face until it's literally an inch from mine, staring at me so intently I really don't know what I want to do more; kiss her or kill her. I can see something very clear here, and that is she's not afraid of me. And I like it about as much as I loathe it. I haven't met anyone who hasn't been scared of me in a long, long time.

'You do realize what I can do to you if you keep pushing my temper like this, don't you? I warn her.

'What, bite me? Come on then Eric, do it. Where were you thinking of exactly anyway, here?' she replies slowly, leaning back in her seat and running a black painted fingernail down the side of her neck. Right now I'm somewhere stuck between incredibly enraged and incredibly turned on by the fact she has the balls to stand up to me. And for that alone, I quash any desire to sink my teeth into her and drain her dry, which just leaves me with...

'Just open the fucking box...please' I reply quietly, now controlling the desire to rip her out of the chair and fuck her right here on the floor. If I could glamour her I'd do it; even though my ego does usually demand that the woman knows how much she's enjoying herself at the time, rather than having it erased from her mind.

'Aha, the magic word, well done you' she replies, smiling, her demeanour totally changing even though her sarcasm lingers. I then stand up straight again and lean back against the desk, watching lean forward and take the box, holding it up and looking at the lock.

'I'm no expert. About the closest I've got to lock picking was jimmying one open with a knife, and that was a simple bicycle lock. This looks much more complicated' she replies as she pulls a dark gold pin from her hair, and bends it straight at the middle. She has her mountain of blonde tresses all pinned up today, all rolled around and neat but then with loose pieces pulled free around her face and back of her neck, making the gentle pulse that flickers her neck visible to my eyes. And out pop my fangs, but I keep my mouth closed too conceal them while I watch her fiddle around with the pin in the lock, trying to work the levers as I did with knifes, pieces of wire, inkless fountain pens, other keys I knew wouldn't even fit, but I had a go anyway, you name it, I tried it.

'Nope, it's not budging for shit' she finally speaks after five minutes of silence of than the sound of a pin picking away at the levers inside the lock, but sadly not being able to make them click open.

'Thanks for nothing' I reply, snatching the box from off her lap and disappearing off downstairs with it again. Because of a phone call I receive whilst down there she's gone from the office when I return, and when I take my usual seat out front I see her walking through the bar, and feel once again all that energy leaving with her...at about the same time as I feel the blood that's been inflating the enormous erection crushing itself against my jeans for the last ten minutes rush away too. I hate wanting what I can't have. But no one should ever underestimate the measures I'll go to in my pursuit of getting it.

**Authors note - Lovely to know this is being well received, thank you for the reviews so far! x**


	6. Chapter 6

Tyra's POV.

'I think the hardest part of going organic and dragging everything else kicking and screaming into the twenty first century was getting old gramps used to it all. He ran that farm with a ledger for fifty years, he take too kindly to having to get used to a computer to record the stock control! Grandma took to it like a duck to water though, she said it made it a thousand times easier to keep a record of everything to do with the farm shop' Darren tells me while I listen intently, relishing every second of our date so far. He's telling me all about when he and his father decided to bring the family farm, ran by four generations of the Timmins family, into the modern times by using computer technology and also going completely organic. And I have to say it's really nice to listen to stories about such a different life to mine. He works every day out in the elements, come rain or shine, fresh air circulating his big lungs and sun falling onto his golden skin, highlighting his hair as it has. He's a really good looking guy, really, really gorgeous. And he's interesting too, intelligent, not some farming hick like so many in and around Bon Temps.

'So you grow crops as well as rear beef cattle and horses? I hope the recent storm didn't do too much damage' I ask, after taking a sip of what probably is the best Beaujolais I've ever tasted, as he promised. And the steak I ordered for my main course was probably the best I've had in a while too; a proud moment for Darren as he revealed his farm supplies the Chateaux restaurant with their meat.

'Yes we do, and yeah we lost a few fruit trees but most of our plantation won't come up until the spring' he replies. 'So, I take it you're enjoying the wine?' he then asks, while I nod and smile.

'The company too' I reply, smiling even wider when he does, and then reaches out and strokes the back of my hand.

'Ditto' he replies. Yep, as far as second dates go, this one is going really, really well. He's smart, funny, gorgeous, has the same interests as me (except for the archery, but I've already promised to give him a lesson out in the woods behind my house where I have a target nailed to a tree) and is just a really great guy from what I can tell so far.

'I'll have to get you up to the farm soon, see if we can't get you up on one of the horses' he then announces, topping up our glasses with the wine as he speaks.

'Yeah, maybe, but they're about the only thing that kind of scares me. They're very intelligent and intimidating all at once, what if the one I'm sat on works out I'm nervous and decides to use it to his or her advantage?' I ask him, a legitimate concern I feel.

'I'll get you up on my dads' old horse Elvis. He moves at speeds of four miles an hour and below since he's twenty five now' Darren replies, making me feel a little easier about the idea of being on top of something with a mind of its own. I'm only used to that in the sexual sense with a man, not the 'Hahahaha the person on my back is crapping themselves, let's gallop off fast' sense. This is just great, sitting here listening to him making plans to see me again, knowing he's obviously quite keen. The last guy I went on a date with bored me to death within twenty minutes, but then again just how much fun can someone who sells socks on the internet be?

'Well as long as he doesn't reach five miles per hour then we have a deal' I reply, making him laugh. Yes, definitely better than John the sock seller or Mac the dentist, or Carl the construction worker, none of whom lasted beyond the first date. And those are the only dates I've had since I split up with my ex boyfriend Harrison nine months ago. It wasn't a painful split at all, we just wanted different things. I ended it, because I wanted him to have what I wasn't prepared to give him; babies. It's actually harder than you'd think to find a man who doesn't want to have children in the future. Harrison was definitely one of the ones who did, and I wasn't going to deprive him of that just because I have no desire to procreate. I can't imagine a worse fate truth be told. But I'm not going to drop that bombshell on Darren yet, as I have every faith that being a family man and bringing another generation of Timmins kids into the world to run the farm when he's old and grey is exactly what he wants for his future. But I'd at least like to enjoy him for a while in the here and now. Every woman has her needs...but even still, I'll make him wait. Even though I have the sex drive of a teenage boy, I'm a lady. Kinda.

'So you mentioned you're learning to play guitar to me when I first met you, but I neglected to touch upon the subject again on our last date. So how's that going? How long did you say you'd been learning?' Darren then asks me with genuine interest.

'About a year, my ex was giving me lessons and I just carried on learning from books and YouTube videos after that. I'm pretty awful, but determined to get better. I don't like giving up on things easily' I reply, watching him nodding before he goes on to tell me about his own brush with musical instruments; an ill fated attempt at drumming that ended somewhere between his inability to establish a good rhythm, and his mother complaining about all the noise. When Harrison and I parted after three years, he left his beautiful black and cherry sunburst acoustic guitar at my place, where it had lived for most of the duration of our relationship, although we never lived together properly. We always had our own homes still, even if we did spend a week at one and then a week at the other and so on. But anyway, back to the guitar...

'Keep it, you always loved it' he told me as he swung his back of belongings I'd packed up for him onto his shoulder, smiling at me a little sadly and tucking one of his long gorgeous dreadlocks I always loved so much behind his ear.

'Are you sure? It's so beautiful, and you loved it so much when you brought it' I told him, as I remembered the afternoon he purchased it, on a road trip we'd made to New Orleans we'd made about seven months into our relationship.

'Sure, she needs to be played anyway, and since I'm moving onto my bass's more these days I know she'll have a good home here with you' he told me with a smile, before he gave me a hug, told me he'd miss me, and left. It was the last time I saw him too, he moved back to Portland in Oregon shortly afterwards for a fresh start back home. We still text, but the messages are few and far between.

'Well, I've made it for three hours now, if you'll excuse me so I can go and indulge my filthy habit' he then says, almost apologetically as he stands and takes his jacket from off the back of his chair, pulling it on and taking a packet of Marlboro reds from his pocket.

'I cannot promise you a kiss goodnight unless you have a mint, I hope you realize that' I flirt, watching him begin to smile widely.

'Then in that case, we gotta make a stop at a gas station on the way back to your place' he replies, winking and turning to leave, while I just pick up my wine, and take another gulp. I've been looking forward to this, even though just two days ago I did contend in a world heavyweight flirting match with Eric in the office, despite my feelings towards vampires and boss's. Well, I guess it wasn't exactly flirting, we were being vile to each other but still, there was something sexual simmering away. Okay, so the Viking thing got in a little bit. It still doesn't mean I'm not beginning to like having the company of someone like Darren. Speaking of Eric though, I wonder what he's doing and who he's corrupting tonight...

Eric's POV.

Ahhhh, so the one they call Darren is a smoker. This means my task will be a lot easier that I thought, I won't even need to enter the building he's just walked out of. Not that I couldn't get out of sight in a quick enough time or anything like that, but keeping off the premises is more discreet for what I'm about to do. And so I walk over to him...

'Excuse me, do you have a light?' I ask him, adding a touch more of a human tone to my voice, making conversation so I can get close enough to him without spooking him.

'Sure, hold on a sec' he replies, looking down to search his jacket pocket. And when he looks up again, I lock him in a stare and watch his eyes lose focus, glamouring him instantly.

'When you go back inside, you will pay the check at the desk and leave immediately, without Tyra seeing you. And you will never contact her, or accept a call or return a text from her again; you've decided she's not the kind of woman you're looking for after all. You'll find someone else, and forget all about Tyra Boden' I tell him, watching him nodding while I smile.

'Good, now go' I reply, blinking and moving away from him at speed, so he wouldn't even know I was there, back to behind the two tall trees I've been waiting behind, waiting for my chance to do what I intended. I wait, and watch him go back in, pay, and then leave quickly and quietly, heading out to his car and driving away, without Tyra. I suppose you're wondering how I knew about all this in the first place, right? Well, all I can say is never underestimate a vampires' ability to listen in on conversations between his progeny and his bookkeeper. And with that, my work here is done.

Tyra's POV.

Jesus, how many cigarettes is he having out there? Half a pack? He's been gone for fifteen minutes now, and I'm suddenly starting to feel as alone as I look in this room full of other diners, just sitting fiddling with my empty wine glass since the bottle was finished on what's left in his. Maybe he had to go to the men's room? Maybe he had a bad reaction to the shellfish or something? Either way, I think I'll go out front and see what's up. And so after taking my long black coat off the chair I pull it on and head out to the front, looking through the many glass panes of the large windows and not being able to see Darren at all.

'Excuse me, the tall guy I arrived here with in the dark brown suit, you haven't seen him at all have you?' I ask the smartly dressed hostess at the welcoming desk where the register and credit card terminal are too.

'Yes madam, he paid the check and left about a quarter of an hour ago' she tells me, a sudden sympathy in her eyes when my face must make it clear that I didn't know of his departure.

'Thank you, and thank you for a lovely evening, it was excellent. I couldn't trouble you to call a cab for me could I? I don't have a number for this area' I reply, trying to sound indifferent to the fact I've just had my date walk out on me.

'Certainly madam, you may wait here in the foyer until it arrives' she says, gesturing to the plush chez over by the window with one hand while picking up the telephone with the other.

'I think I'd like some fresh air, but thank you' I reply, reaching into my pocket and pulling out a twenty dollar bill I press into her hand as a thank you for her kindness, and smile and leave.

'Okay, so what the hell just went on there?' I say to myself as I stand outside the Chateaux, truly baffled and a little angry at why he suddenly just upped and left, after we were getting on so well, without even a word? I then open my purse and rummage around until I find my cell, checking it just in case he left a message or tried to call and I didn't hear it. Perhaps there was an emergency back at the farm? He did say there were two mares due to give birth at any moment, perhaps one of them went into labour and he was needed? But, when I pull my rather bulky HTC touch screen from its leather pouch, I find the only message I have is from Dmitri, a joint one from him and Anna enquiring about how my date is going. It was received half an hour ago at 10.42pm, and if I'd have replied to it then I'd have said it was going magnificently. Because it was at that particular time, but now? Now I think it's safe to say my date has turned into a disaster. Not wanting to look desperate or needy by calling, as I wait for my cab to turn up I punch out a quick text.

'Hey, tonight was great, I was a bit surprised at your sudden exit though. I hope everything is okay. Call me when you can. T.'

I search for his number and press send when I've obtained it in the list, and then text Dmitri telling him I'll call them both tomorrow at some point, before I switch my phone off and throw it back into my purse in a disgruntled fashion, taking a small wad of bills out and stuffing them into my pocket before closing it up again and thinking it's a small mercy at least I have fifty dollars on me, which should more than cover the ride home, in the cab that's fortunately just pulled up. And for the whole duration of that ride I can feel myself getting more and more wound up over it, asking myself over and over why he just left like that. It's weird, very fucking weird. I thought the night was going so well too. And so I just take a deep breath, resting my head against the cab window and breathing out through my nose slowly, making the glass steam up, distorting the view of raindrops falling on it, the gloomy night now fully descended into heavy rain. I pay the driver and tell him to keep the six dollars change, then pull my coat up over my head before I exit the cab, slamming the door just as I see Lafayette come driving up, honking the horn of his Mercedes at me.

'Hey ice princess, can I tempt you in for a nice warming Courvoisier and coffee on this cold and rainy night?' he tells me, getting out and locking his door at speed while I pull my jacket further up over my head. I like the way the universe has a habit of throwing me just what I need, just when I need it.

'Just you try and stop me' I reply, before we both make a run for his front door, shaking ourselves off once we're inside, Lafayette taking my coat for me and hanging it up on the back of the door.

'So, have you just got off at Merlotte's then?' I ask him as I follow him through to the kitchen, his arm reaching out to take the large bottle of brandy from his stash of bottles as we pass it on the way.

'Nope, it's my night off. I had a bit of extracurricular work to take care of' he replies, giving me the kind of look I read loud and clear. Lafayette is, after all, a small time purveyor of fine herbs and mind mending pharmaceuticals.

'Say no more' I reply, holding my hands up and laughing softly.

'So is you sweet enough, or is you wanting sugar in yo' coffee?' he then asks me.

'I'm sweet enough big poppa, well I thought I was until earlier' I reply.

'Oh really? And which blind dumb ass fool told you that you weren't?' he asks me, clicking the kettle on and then pulling two enormous mugs from the cupboard by his head.

'We didn't even get that far, believe me. I went on a date tonight, and everything was going swimmingly until he went outside for a smoke and didn't come back. I waited a little while unaware, until I went out to the front desk only to be told he'd paid the check and left' I reply, watching Lafayette raise his eyebrows in disbelief.

'Hm, but at least he didn't stiff you with the bill huh? Could have been a whole lot worse honey child, but it does suck, and I don't blame you for looking as pissed about it as you do. So I'm pouring an extra slug of brandy in here just for that reason alone' he replies, pointing at the large cup he didn't add any sugar to.

'Yeah, there is that I suppose' I reply a little glumly. I feel like someone clipped my wings. But oh well. Life goes on. Men aren't worth moping over; something my friend is quick to remind me. I've seen a lot of him over the last fortnight, and our once casual friendship seems to be a little more cemented now; which is nice. I wouldn't say I'm antisocial or anything, or unpopular, but I don't have a whole tribe of friends, and they all live outside of Bon Temps. So making one this close to home is an added bonus.

'Well I know it's a cliché, but he ain't worth it hooker, you know you can do better than that. Not if he's the type to just leave you by yourself like that without a word. I wouldn't even give him a second thought if I was you' he tells me as he spoons ground coffee into the coffee machine, and then adds the by now boiled water, sealing the top and pushing the plunger down before pouring it into the two mugs, and then adding a good slug of brandy and cream to his, gesturing before he pours into mine.

'I'll take my black please' I tell him, watching him set the cream back into the small fridge by his knees and then pass me my mug.

'Keeping it real, a girl after my own heart' he replies, making me laugh as we walk into the lounge and take up residence on the couch. At least only part of tonight has been shit, and from tonight on today will not be the day Tyra got walked out on, today will be the day Tyra went to see Lafayette and got really drunk on brandy laced coffees until 2am, when we just switched to the brandy by itself.

'So you feeling better now you've sat and helped me finish the best part of a bottle of this fine and distinguished gentleman's drink?' Lafayette says fancily as he pours me another Courvoisier.

'Much, in fact I'm so drunk right now I forgotten what I was even pissed about' I reply jokingly, snorting with laughter and rested my head back against the couch seat. We slid to the floor about half an hour ago, and right now he's smoking a joint while I find myself getting stoned passively. Apart from one of Dmitri's brothers sticky toffee hash cakes (yes, they taste as good as they sound) on very scarce occasions drugs just aren't my thing, so right now I can imagine my head will be in one hell of a state come the morning.

'No you ain't, you's thinking about him right now huh?' he replies, while I know something in my face must've betrayed me for a second there. Okay, so yes Darren did just flicker through my mind for a few moments, making my heart drop for a couple of beats before it picked up again.

'Am I allowed one moment to be pathetic and then never mention him ever again?' I ask my friend, watching him mull it over.

'You got a minute to vent peach tree, and then yes, the name Darren Timmins is NEVER mentioned between us again' he replies before sipping his brandy.

'He was so hot Lafayette, SO FREAKIN' HOT! OH DAMN HIM THE FUCKER, DAMN HIM!' I reply, making him laugh while I feel better. Very drunk too, but much better after airing my main gripe about the whole Darren situation, a name I definitely will not be mentioning again. Lafayette is right; I can do better...except my eventual version of better will be his version of a thousand times worse. Not that I know it yet.


	7. Chapter 7

Tyra's POV.

Six days have passed since my disastrous date with Darren, six days and not a word from him. Not even a reply to that one and only text I sent him on my way home afterwards. I guess he wasn't as nice as I thought after all. No matter what I said to Lafayette, I still held a tiny grain of hope he'd get in touch. And then I got the fuck over it and carried on, deleting his number from my phone and his memory from my head. It just wasn't meant to be I suppose. And whereas I'm all for leaving the subject, it seems that soon someone else won't quite be so keen on just letting things go...

'Why the hell is Pam leaving her shoes around?' Eric asks as he comes tearing into the office just twenty minutes after I arrived here and began my work, noticing the shoes I borrowed from Pam last week.

'She lent them to me, I'm just returning them is all' I reply, looking over to where I've hung the shoes off one of the desk draw handles.

'Any special occasion in particular?' he enquires, sitting on the edge of the desk on the other side.

'Not that it's any of your business, but I had a date' I reply, looking away from the computer screen for a few seconds to cast my eye over him and then look away again. Except I keep my eye on him for longer than I intended; I hate to acknowledge it, but I swear he gets sexier every time I see him. Tyra, stop.

'Oh, and how did that work out for you?' he asks me casually, hardly sounding interested enough to even ask the question properly, let alone have any genuine interest in hearing the answer.

'Badly if you must know' I reply, trying to sound final.

'Why?' he asks, sounding amused by that piece of information.

'I don't wish to discuss it' I say, trying to stop myself from feeling wound up.

'Did he stand you up? If he did, well, he must be a particularly stupid breed of man' he replies, his words although as languid and emotionless as always somehow quell my tempers gentle rise at having him press the subject, even though he's just been complimentary to me of sorts.

'No he didn't' I reply, adding up my final total for last Monday's takings and entering them in a blank cell.

'Didn't fuck you like you wanted him to? Let me guess, I bet he was too gentle with you, I bet you like it a little rough, don't you?' he then asks, his crudeness both an irritation and a turn on; in equal measures too. Who the hell does he think he is?

'Pity you'll never find out, isn't it?' I snap back, looking away from the computer at him again, smiling as I land one over on him.

'But I will' he replies confidently.

'No, you won't' I correct him with matching confidence.

'Face it, the idea of having a Viking fucking you is too much for you to resist for long. You know it, and more importantly I know it too. You can't hide that from me Tyra, so play your little game of hard to get for as long as you like, but we both know you're going to crumble sooner or later' he replies, now just looking very, very smug.

'Smug doesn't suit you Eric, especially when I'm really, really not interested. It just makes you look pathetic' I reply, and then suddenly have the wind knocked out of me by his actions of tearing around the other side of the desk, grabbing me by my throat, and then before I know it I'm being pinned against the wall, hardly able to breath, with Eric so close to me his nose touches mine.

'No one gets away with talking to me with as little regard as you seem to think you can. So button that smart mouth of yours, before I rethink my decision not to drain your dry and throw your shrivelled corpse in a river somewhere. Remember, you're disposable, entirely disposable' he tells me, not raising his voice once, but conveying the tone perfectly. And just for a few moments, I am scared of him, for the first time I'm on the receiving end of the bad temper of one hell of a powerful vampire. But I can't help what else I feel too, which is the sick sadistic throb of arousal somewhere deep within. Oh hell. Finally he lets me go, and doesn't turn around again as he leaves the office, and I just stand there rubbing my throat, which feels very sore. So, there is a limit he can be pushed to then. And I think it's fair to say I just shoved him right over that limit. Note to self; never again refer to Eric Northman as pathetic. But one thing I will call him out to his face for it having a fucking bad attitude, when I tell him he can stick his job up his ass. I won't be staying around for long enough for him to think it's okay to treat me like that again, and so I leave my file open and unfinished, unplug my hard drive and pack up my belongings before leaving the office and heading out into the club, seeing it looking remarkably full considering it's only just turned 7pm, striding over to a small table by the bar that Eric is sat at with two other vampires.

'Find yourself a new bookkeeper Mr Northman, I might not get away with calling you out for exactly what you are, which is a bad tempered, pathetic asshole, but you don't get away with throwing me into a wall either. Fuck you' I tell him, watching him go from looking amused at my anger with a slight raised eyebrow, to pretty angry once again.

'You wish' he replies quietly. Not that I care much about anything he has to say now, if I never see him again it'll be too soon. Men, human or vampire, right now they just plain piss me the fuck off. And I do not see why I should put up with being physically attacked for the sake of three hundred dollars a week, thankfully my business is doing well enough not to warrant me having to suck it up and deal with assholes like him because I need the money. He's not right in the fucking head I swear, and he wonders why I'm not interested in a mean tempered psychopath like him? Jesus, does he really think he's god's gift to women? That he's so gorgeous he can just treat any female he wants to bed (and who just happens to work for him too, he certainly has a pattern doesn't he?) like complete shit and they'll still drop their pants for him? He's sadly mistaken if he's ever estimated as much about me.

Eric's POV.

Hmm, perhaps that was a bad idea, just letting her up and leave like this when Godric expressly told me it's the very thing I'm not to do. But right now, I'm still irritated at her attitude so I will let her go, and decide what to do about all this later. To be honest, I can feel my interest in all this cryptic bullshit starting to wan, impatient as I am. But still, I can't help but feel that maybe I've done the wrong thing by just letting her leave, going against such express last wishes made to me by my maker. I put this and everything else to the back of my mind, the two associates of mine and I heading into the office soon after Tyra's departure to talk through some business in a more private environment and talking over a current matter within area five for the next four hours, by which time the only thing running through my mind are my desires to both feed and fuck. Here's where Deborah comes in handy. I should probably change her job title to personal prostitute since she spends more time down in the basement with me than she does behind the bar, but she'll suffice until something better comes along I suppose.

'Thanks Eric, until next time' she tells me at just gone 4.30am, six hours after we came down here. She pulls her dress back over her head and arranges it, walking over to me and running her tongue around my nipple a few times, kissing it and then letting herself out. I like how that's as close to affection as she gets, it suits me well. After picking up my clothes I move at speed down a level until I'm in my apartment, coming to a stop in the bathroom, dumping my dirty clothes in the designated box and then stepping into my huge shower over in the corner, washing away the smell of sweat, sex, and Gucci perfume as I stand under the almost boiling hot water. I then wash my hair and watch as the suds slip down my chest, further down still as they run down my legs, and then the sight of two hands sliding around my waist attracts my attention away from the sight of white foam, as I turn to see Tyra standing there as naked as I, leaning up and running her fingertips down my cheeks, transmitting that amazing, beautiful energy that intensifies by a thousand as she reaches up and kisses me...

And then I suddenly jolt out of the haze I've fallen into, pushing the remaining traces of suds from my hair and getting out, drying myself off and walking back out to stretch out in the enormous bed backed against the east facing wall. I haven't slept in a casket since I've had the luxury of a sub terrain home, it took some getting used to, but now it's a lot more comfortable than the confines of a casket. Even though when I'm asleep, I'm as still and dead as you can get and don't move at all until I wake again. But just as the thought of rest begins to cross my mind, I turn over under the covers to witness a sight that would make me jump if I were still a human; Godric sitting at the end of my bed. And the sight of him, or rather the sight of his transparent, ghostly form is no shock to me though; I did wonder if his spirit would visit me.

'When she is what you desire, I feel it very foolish of you to cast her away' he tells me, looking amused.

'I didn't cast her away, she left' I reply nonchalantly.

'Pinning people to a wall by their throat is often considered the catalyst to drive someone away though Eric' he replies, chuckling softly.

'Be that as it may, but my interest over her only goes so far, as does my desire' I reply, watching him nod.

'It could be different though, maybe if you actually gave her a reason to want you back. She's not like other women, Tyra' he tells me.

'And how would you know?' I question.

'Just because I do, and if you take the time to scratch the surface, you'll realize why I sent her to you, everything will become clear if you just keep looking. Keep looking Eric, everything you need to find out what you want to know is well within your grasp. And in the meantime, there's a certain blonde haired lady who is owed an apology, a real one too' he replies with a smile, standing and then walking away until his image fades into nothing, leaving me to sigh for the first time in a very long time, and speak the words I've been speaking and thinking for the last two weeks.  
'Varför er du gör den här till jag?' Why are you doing this to me? But before I can ponder that any further, I'm interrupted again by an actual presence this time, Pam.

'Sorry, I didn't wake you did I?' she asks after knocking and being told she may enter.

'No, you didn't. Is everything done upstairs?' I ask her.

'Locked up and all tidy, the girls have just left too. But I did want to ask you, did Tyra bring a pair of red shoes with her today? I lent them to her and I want to wear them tomorrow' she replies, sitting down on the edge of my bed.

'Yes, they're in the office' I reply.

'Good, I'll have to thank her for returning them tomorrow evening' she replies with a small nod.

'She won't be coming back tomorrow, she quit earlier this evening' I inform her, watching her frown immediately.

'Why?' she asks me.

'Because she and her smart mouth went too far and I throttled her for it' I reply, watching her look mad.

'Eric! You go too far sometimes!' she scolds me.

'Maybe, look I'll call her or something, see if I can get her to come back as normal next Wednesday, give her some time. She is a good bookkeeper' I reply, my attitude somewhat changed after the ghostly visit from Godric.

'Well she wouldn't have been here next Wednesday anyway, something about going to see a band called Deicide, so she was going to do Thursday and Friday instead' she informs me, while I put the information she just gave me to good use.

'Then guess where we're going next Wednesday night?' I tell her, raising an eyebrow and watching her look momentarily amused.

'Stalker' she replies, getting up and heading off in the direction of the door.

'Lesbian' I mutter back, watching her stick her arm out behind her and give me the middle finger salute, something I cant help but laugh softly at as she closes the door behind her. So until next Wednesday night...

Tyra's POV.

'Well would you look at that Poontang, we're tidy and clean at last. I guess quitting does have its advantages' I tell my little cat, just a week after I walked out of my job as bookkeeper at Fangtasia, which is perhaps the best thing I've done in a while. I'm not missing the extra $300 a week too much either, since the day after I told Eric where he could stick his job I landed a new client anyway. And it's also given me a few more free hours, meaning I can keep my home (which although always clean, sometimes falls into disarray with the tidiness) tidy at a much more sedate pace. When I took Eric on as a client I'd just lost one due to the recession, so his books filled that time nicely, but now that time is free again I've decided to put it to good use, have a little 'me' time, relax a little. Yep, that's how hard I work each and every day; I regard household chores as relaxing. I know I'm insane, but I'm happy in my madness. And so after pouring a handful of little cat paw shaped biscuits into her bowl I pacify Poon for a little longer (she has been 'helping' me clean with her own brand of kitty help- attacking the feather duster, chasing the vacuum, diving on the straw bristled broom when I went out to sweep the porch the little tinker) while I put all of the cleaning products and tools back into the large cupboard in the corner of the kitchen, pulling out the ironing board so I can run the iron over the top I'll be wearing tonight. Yeah, as soon as Dmitri and I hit that mosh pit tonight I'll be so creased and sweaty that it won't really matter, but I hate creased clothes. And speak of the devil...

'Hey you! Yeah you, you fucking Swedish bitch who can't park her car for shit!' he shouts as he comes bowling into my house like he owns the place.

'Shut your mouth and give me love, you big Cossack bastard who can't park his truck in the ample room given' I reply, walking across the kitchen once I've pulled my freshly ironed white vest top on to give him a bone crunching hug; or rather receive one. Dmitri is only my height, but about five feet wide. And we always love to banter back and forth, insulting each other's driving skills, nationalities, and anything else we can think of while we're at it. It's all with a lot of affection though, as I stated previously he and Anna are my best friends.

'So, to have my one and only beer here, or wait until we get to the venue?' he then ponders, while I decide to do him a friendly favour.

'How about both?' I brought you these in yesterday, so you drink until your heart's content my friend, I'll drive tonight. I can either call a cab when we get to yours or I can just drop you off and you collect the truck from here in the morning?' I ask him as I fold the ironing board away. Since Anna is due to give birth to their daughter in just three days time this is going to be his last night of freedom before the title 'daddy' will come before the thought 'partying'. So the least I can do is forgo a night of alcohol (not that I drink much anyway) so he can enjoy himself. Regardless of what I promised Anna, I'll just make sure he doesn't get _too_ wasted.

'Are you sure? That'd be perfect if you could, and I'd be prepared to pay for your cab home too, I need my truck first thing for work, I'm on an early morning shift tomorrow' he replies, while pulling a can of beer from the four pack I pointed at on the counter that I brought especially for him. I can't stand the damn stuff, tastes like fizzy piss if you ask me.

'Positive, and I won't take a penny for the cab either. And so, to your last night of freedom Mr Ford' I say, holding my glass of water up to toast his can.

'To my last night of freedom indeed!' he shouts in reply, toasting my glass and then laughing. 'Not much of a toast when one of us is on water' he laughs.

'Ahhh well the thought was there' I reply with a smile. He knows I'm happy to go without alcohol, although I'm certain he's still not used to it. Hell, he's from Russian stock (on his mother's side, his dad being native to Louisiana), drinking vodka is practically a sport where she comes from, and where he spent the first ten years of his life before he and the family moved back here to climates warmer. We stay at my place playing music (all early Deicide offerings to get us in the mood) until Dmitri has finished his four beers, and then decide if we're going to get anywhere close to the venue just outside of New Orleans any time soon we'd better hit the road. I decide to hit highway five and then turn off at Shreveport, since the traffic is way less congested than out on the freeway (doesn't make sense does it?) if you head through there and then take highway 3 to lead you up to the big easy. And funnily enough, it's just as we drive past the road Fangtasia backs onto that Dmitri asks me about what happened with Eric the previous week.

'So Anna tells me you had an altercation with that vampire guy, and because I was trying to get my ass out of the door to be on time for work I'm a little hazy on the details, so what happened exactly?' he asks me, while I frown momentarily as I remember being ripped out of my seat and pinned against the wall by my throat, which still aches a bit and had fingertip bruises on it seven days on. And so I explain the situation to him, also omitting the fact that he doesn't see me as just an employee either, and the fact he has no boundaries where bedding said employees comes into the equation either, watching him nodding, his fingers pressed to his chin in a thoughtful pose.

'I ought to put a fucking sharp stake right through him for that, fucking bastard' he says, muttering everything apart from 'fucking bastard' in Russian, a language I'm totally fluent in thanks to his tutoring.

'Hey, he's a vampire. What did I expect for sitting there and blatantly pressing his buttons and being cheeky?' I reply with a shrug as he lights a cigarette and I then open my window so I'm not gassed. It may be his truck, meaning I have absolutely no place to tell him not to smoke around me, but I really do hate the smell. Ick. I'd rather sit next to Lafayette while he's chonging on the weed than sit next to someone smoking a cigarette.

'You're defending him after what he did? Jeez, Anna was right, you do fancy him' he replies, looking like he's bracing himself for a tirade. Which, despite myself, he gets.

'I do not fancy him! I just understand he is what he is, I was just saying I understand why he did that to me, but I wasn't condoning it. If I was I would have stayed on as his bookkeeper and I didn't, I quit. So there we have it. Now no more talk of Eric fucking Northman' I reply a little sharply, and then turn and burst out laughing at Dmitri, who's pressed himself against the passenger door as far as he can get away from me, pulling a pretend scared face and making a cross with his fingers that he points at me.

'Wooooaaaaah! Touchy much? That means one thing, you do fa...' he begins.

'DMITRI!' I cut him off in warning.

'Okay, okay! No more talk of the dead dude' he chuckles, shaking his head as he rearranges himself in his seat, flicking ash out of the open window. I hate it when anyone brings Eric up, I really do. Because, I'm still kicking myself that the way he treated me wasn't enough to quell the desire I've felt myself harbouring for him. Quite the opposite in fact, since as I reluctantly admitted to you at the time it did turn me on; something I am kicking myself for. Why does danger and brutality appeal to me so damn much? I must have Viking blood in me or something, it's entirely possible considering where I come from; the same country as he does.

And speaking of that magic word, it is the fact that he's a Viking that works that magic on me, and boy does he know it too. Well, knew it, since he won't be seeing me again anytime soon, or ever hopefully. By the time we arrive on the borders of New Orleans Eric is far from my mind though, as I feel excitement at seeing the streets littered with Deicide fans while we drive along looking for a parking lot. Oh yes, bring on the carnage. Deciding that neither of us are that interested in seeing the support acts, we head to a bar literally just around the corner from the venue, and sit down and talk while he sinks the beers and I enjoy my only alcoholic drink of the night, a small bottle of (thankfully imported) Guinness. We mainly talk about his impending fatherhood, but also make room for more interesting discussions revolving around music, until the times comes for us to leave, and enter the arena to stake out our territory right at the front and centre, waiting, waiting, until the lights go up and an almighty roar of guitars coupled with the dry lung bludgeoning vocals of the mighty Glenn Benton, and Dmitri and I proceed to go insane as the pit begins to circle, and the mayhem begins. No, I'm not a girly girl. I get my kicks shoving big fellas around in a crowd, putting myself in the place any other sane girl fears to tread. And that is right in the middle of the carnage, shoving and getting shoved around.

Eric's POV.

'Look at her; she's all rage and strength. It's beautiful isn't it?' I ask Pam as we stand on the balcony at the Deicide show, watching Tyra below, a whirlwind of sweat drenched hair and fury. When we arrived Pam said the best thing I could do would be to thrust a bottle of imported Guinness (her favourite drink apparently) in her direction, and give her the sincerest apology I could muster. But that is something I do not plan on doing in public, or with Pam there ready to shoot her mouth off in a clever fashion, something she's quite famed to me at doing. No, while I'm here I have only one desire, and that is to watch her. And for no creepy or (as Pam called it) stalker-esque reasons either. If I want to find out what she is, it'd be useful to see how she acts in different situations. And watching her fight her way through a whole crowd of people throwing each other around in between throwing punches, is perhaps the best setting of all to see how she works that unique brand of rage of hers. The rage I find so arousing I'm surprised I can keep it in check.

'Very much so...I bet she's really something in bed, with that amount of aggression, they usually are' she replies, her eyes not leaving the subject of our conversation for a moment, her fangs out and touching her bottom lip. As much as she's stated she enjoys the little friendship she's building with Tyra, she still wants her.

'You'd probably get beat up and fucked all at the same time' I reply nonchalantly.

'Oh stop, my pussy just started biting my damn leg off at the thought' Pam replies, shoving me in the arm with her elbow and frowning. 'You really want her bad don't you? I know that look; I've had a hundred years of that look now. I bet it really pisses you off she ain't into vampires huh?' she then adds, making my temper feel just more than a touch prickled.

'I'll find some way to overcome it, should I ever find use for her' I reply casually.

'I bet your dick has found at least four by now, catch up Eric' she replies, looking up at me and laughing a few short bursts as she shakes her head. 'And don't try to kid me, I'm too smart for that' she adds, her tone a little softer.

'My interest is purely based on the fact that I still maintain she's not human. No human could have this effect on me, as much as it pains to admit it, but there, I did, now shut the fuck up. I only told you because I know I won't be able to deal with your incessant commenting or general nauseating babble on the subject of Miss Boden down there. So leave it, take that as a warning' I reply, not humoured at all by her pressing on the matter.

'Eric calm down, I understand it. I feel that unexplainable draw to her and that energy as well, it isn't just you. And I'm beginning to think you're right, because there's no way a girl, tall as she may be, can be that damn strong for one thing. And...with her I just don't feel that somewhat repulsion I feel when humans are around. It's odd' she concedes, taking one last look down to see Tyra actually standing still, tying all her hair up and talking to a bunch of heavily tattooed guys she's been throwing around in the pit for the last half an hour.

'It certainly is. And speaking of which, I'm feeling displeasure at being around so many of them I can't openly feed on. Stay if you like, but I intend on finding something to feed on and then leaving with it' I reply, watching her wave her hand casually in my direction.

'So you're not even going to go down and talk to her? I thought this was the reason of our night out' she asks me.

'No, the time and the place aren't right. Don't worry though, I'll get her back, so you won't be missing your little friend for long' I reply in a sarcastic, slightly condescending drawl.

'Don't patronize me Eric, just because it isn't beyond my capacity to be friendly' she replies, while I laugh a little bit at her.

'So are you're sure you're okay if I leave you to find your own way back?' I ask her, changing the subject.

'Go, I'm fine. Just leave me the car keys since only one of us has the ability to fly. It'll do me good to have a night off from the old ball and chain' she replies, smiling at me and taking the keys I hand her before turning back to watch the crowd below, while I leave at speed, but not quickly enough not to find a very attractive young girl, eighteen if that, who actually looks remarkably like Tyra. Except her hair is bleached, Tyra's isn't. And just as I'm about to make my way over to her, I freeze, and I don't want to move another step. So instead, I turn begin walking again, and don't stop until I'm outside the building. No, a carbon copy of Tyra is not what I want, nor what I'll waste my valuable time with. I want the real thing, and come hell or high water in the end I'm going to get it. But I guess I have to try and coax her back into my employment first of all...and so off I fly to do just that. Or rather wait for her to return home first.


	8. Chapter 8

WARNING - Following chapter contains a small scene of a sexual nature. If this offends, do not read on!

Tyra's POV.

Wow, I think my eardrums would have burst if I hadn't have had the sense to jam a pair of earplugs in first, before Deicide even hit the stage. It doesn't distort the sound, but that ringing you get in your ears after a really loud gig has never appealed to me above the age of twenty, when I decided that even though I'm far from sensible in the pit, I'm sensible enough to protect my hearing when I spend so much of the night so close to the stage and it's amp stacks blasting out all that ear damaging wonderfulness. I had an amazing time tonight, and can't wait to get home, throw my exhausted, sweaty and a little bloody (I got accidentally hit in the shoulder by a guys spiked arm cuff; he came over immediately to apologise though. Pit camaraderie, you gotta love it) body into a nice hot shower, and then head straight to bed. It's a pity that isn't what I'll be doing right away though, because just now as the cab swung into my drive, I saw something outside my house waiting for me. A very unwelcome vampire, who I intend on telling to go fuck himself for the second time in a week, as soon as I've paid the driver and gotten out.

'I don't even care why you're here or what you want, I don't want to speak to you or see you again. Goodbye Eric' I tell him as I walk right on past him, then feel him turn and grab my wrist.

'GET THE FUCK OFF ME!' I scream at him, more out of fear than anger. I don't shout when I'm mad. He then loosens his grip a little, but doesn't let me go, his eyes spotting something as he leans in closer to me and moves my hair from my neck with his other hand.

'I'm sorry Tyra, I honestly am. Sorry I did that' he says as he looks at the bruises his fingertips left, not sounding in the slightest bit like he means a word of it.

'Eric, I don't care, because you don't even mean it anyway. Just let me go, please' I ask him, irritated by his presence enough, let alone him grabbing me.

'No, I want you to accept my apology first. I fully acknowledge that no matter how smart your mouth is you didn't deserve what I did. And I am sorry, there's no reason to be scared of me now either' he replies, his tone softening just a touch.

'I'm not scared of you' I reply defiantly.

'Yes you are, I can sense it, smell it. But I know you haven't been before, and that is something I've come to very much respect about you' he tells me. Yeah, more bull crap he thinks he can use to try and charm me.

'I still don't believe you' I reply, watching him look angry for a second before his face changes back to the blank expression he carries most of the time.

'I've waited here for the best part of an hour for you to return home. Do you really, really think a vampire like me would just sit around and waste his time like that if all he had to offer the woman he was waiting for was some half assed apology he didn't truly mean? You know I wouldn't waste my time like this, so be nice and invite me in' he replies. And I have to admit here, he really does have a point. Eric isn't the type to sit and wait for anything, so I guess that shows me the weight of his apology. 'And besides, I'd like to be sitting comfortably when I at least attempt to get my feisty little bookkeeper to come and work for me again' the then adds, pulling a face with as much character I've ever seen, that then suddenly, and shockingly, turns into a crafty smile. And stupidly, the only fucking thing I can think of is how hot he looks when he smiles, and I'm immediately furious at myself. He could throw a thousand words of apology at me, yet none would have affected me like it did when he smiled.

'Okay, so I forgive you. Won't you please come in?' I ask him, feeling him let go of my wrist at last.

'I thought you'd never ask' he replies, while I turn and unlock the door. Okay, what the hell am I doing? Am I really sure this isn't a load of shit? That he's probably been waiting all of five minutes for me and his 'I waited for an hour' story is a load of old crap and he's just manipulating me? And why do I even care? Because he's got in, that's why. On some small level, attraction or otherwise, he's wormed his way in. I've always been attracted to exactly what he is, beauty mixed evenly with brutality, all wrapped up in an 'I am what I am, and can be nothing else' bow. He fascinates me, it's not just the fact Vikings make me hot, imagine the things he could tell me, should he choose to? He doesn't exactly seem forthcoming about who he is, I can sense secretiveness there.

'I'd offer you a drink, but since all you vampires can imbibe is blood and mine's not on offer I'm afraid I can't. But that's a damn comfy couch over there' I tell him as we walk in, hoping the offer of the comfy seat he so desires pacifies any other need he should have.

'That is a shame, but not to worry, I don't need to feed much these days and I did that much earlier this evening. And you're right, the couch is comfortable' he replies as he sits, and then picks up the current book I'm reading, about one Mr G. Khan and begins reading the forward.

'I hope you don't mind, but I really need to take a shower. I went to see Deicide tonight and now I'm covered in not only my own sweat, but that of about thirty different people' I tell him, watching him look up from the book and right at me.

'See if I hadn't have seen you there with my own eyes, watching you wreaking one woman carnage that comment could have been taken in a completely different way' he replies, arching an eyebrow, his voice heavy with innuendo.

'You were there?' I ask him, with a little incredulousness to my tone. I can hardly believe it, he doesn't look the type to frequent live music shows.

'Yes, I was. Not for the entire night, I left after Deicide had played for about forty minutes, right about the time their lead singer told some topless slut in the audience to put her saggy tits away. So, now you know I really am telling the truth, because I arrived outside your house at roughly 11.05pm, it's now 12.15am' he tells me, really stunning me for a few seconds, long enough for him to speak again.

'Go and take your shower, and I promise I'll behave myself out here. But I can't promise I won't be thinking about you being all naked and wet back there' he says, pointing in the direction I'm about to walk. Ahhhh Eric, you were doing so well...

'Okay, you mentioned before you wanted to try and talk me round and get me to come and work for you again. If you keep that talk up, I won't' I reply, pointing at him.

'But you like it when I flirt with you, and I like it when you flirt with me. You've already told me you don't want to have sex with me, so where's the harm?' he asks, looking as innocent as a big bad vampire can.

'Because I know you have trouble taking no for an answer. Pam told me it's never sat well with you, being refused' I reply, remembering how she did in fact tell me those very words, and how whenever Eric acts like that it amuses the hell out of her.

'But you like it, don't you?' He presses, making me drop my head for a moment, looking back up at him and knowing full well all the time the seconds pass, he knows exactly what the answer is.

'I'm going for my shower now' I reply blankly, about to either scream in frustration at him or burst out laughing at how embarrassed I feel. It's true, there's certain things you really can't hide from vampires. Their senses are just way too sharp.

'If I change my mind and tell you I don't want you to come back and work for me, can I join you?' he then asks me while I just glare and storm off, leaving him laughing at me quietly, almost under his breath. Vampires don't do full on chuckling. Well, he doesn't at least. More a few bursts of air through his nose and then back to deadpan, and I can't say I blame him. Imagine if you were as old as him? Been there, done that, seen it all. I wouldn't find many things amusing either. And as I stand under the shower jet, turning the setting onto massage so the water pelts down in one current instead of hundreds, I move my aching arms and shoulders under the water and feel it hit the muscles nicely, and also sting the scratches on my arm from that guy's spiked cuff too. And then I let my mind drift back to my guest in the lounge, wondering what the hell his fascination in me with is. I'm not naive enough to think his apology or his desire for me to come and work for him again has anything to do with anything else than what he thinks I am. I know this is his only interest in me, but yet when I walk back into the lounge again, dressed in a nice old soft pair of fade black jeans and a similar old and battered Emperor t shirt, I find him taking more of an interest in me than I ever expected, finding him standing by the television, holding a framed photograph of me and my parents.

'I have to say, you look nothing like your mother or father' he tells me, carefully resting the picture down on the table by the side of the television and going to sit back down, while I take the armchair to the side.

'That's because I'm adopted' I reply, getting comfortable in my seat, tucking my feet underneath me and reaching for a small bottle of Evian I left on the floor by the chairs side earlier.

'Oh I see. And your real parents?' he asks enquiringly.

'Dead' I reply, with an air of 'I don't want to discuss it' in my tone he doesn't pick up on, or if he does he doesn't care.

'What happened to them?' he asks me, surprisingly by actually sounding interested.

'My dad drowned in a boating accident before I was born, and my mother was murdered when I was six. I have no other biological family either, so I'm the last one left' I reply solemnly.

'I know how that feels, to be the only one left' he replies, nodding momentarily.

'I suppose you would, being a vampire and outliving them all' I concede.

'I didn't outlive them, they were murdered when I was still human' he replies, shocking me a little by revealing something that's obviously very personal to him. And since I know how uncomfortable it is to talk about the fact you're whole family have died, I let the subject rest.

'I won't ask how or why, lord knows I get fed up of being asked over my own situation. That's your business and I won't make it mine' I reply, watching him eye me sharply for a few moments, and wonder instantly if I've said the wrong thing. 'And I am sorry that it happened to you, I know you vampires feel little to no emotion, but when you were human that must've hurt like hell' I then add to sympathise, reaching out to him and resting my hand on his arm. I expect him to move, yet he doesn't right away. He just looks right into my eyes, and it's then that I see his go misty and blank for a second, like he's not really there. And then he pulls his arm away sharply and looks away, looking almost like he's gathering his composure. How strange.

'Yes, it did' is all he simply replies with, before silence falls over us again, the atmosphere in the room becoming more and more dense in feel as that silence continues. Eventually, he speaks again.

'So, what I came here for was to apologise and ask you to come and work for me again. One part of that task is done, how about the other? Can I expect to see you there in the office next Wednesday?' he asks me.

'On one condition' I reply.

'And that condition is what? I don't enjoy having terms and conditions put upon me' he replies, not looking amused at all.

'The flirting stops and I mean totally stops. I've told you I don't ever take my clients to bed with me, and you're no exception. If you can deal with that, then sure I'll be there on Wednesday' I reply, watching him look thoughtful for a moment, and then that thing comes back again. That strange thing normal people do with their mouths all the time, that thing called a smile.

'I notice you no longer use the excuse you aren't interested in vampires there?' he questions me with.

'Eric...' I begin to protest.

'You have a deal, but you have to do one thing first. Admit you want me as much as I want you, and I'll stop flirting with you, and I mean that' he says, sticking me right between a rock and a very hard place. Admit I'm attracted to him and have the flirting stop, but still have him win one over on me, or deny it, and have it continue to a point where I quite possibly might get sick of telling him no? And then, see then there's the observation he made earlier, and that is that I do like it when he flirts with me.

'I'm not admitting to a thing' I reply with confidence, watching him lean forward in his seat, until he's much closer to me.

'Well then I'll see you on Wednesday, and don't expect me to behave myself either' he replies, before suddenly WHOOSH! He's gone, disappearing through my open window and leaving me sitting there perhaps more confused than I ever was before. He's one hell of a complex vampire, that's for sure. Is this why I'm drawn to him? Who knows! But one thing I know right now is that I fancy catching up on a bit of world news before I drag my overtired ass to bed. Actually fuck it, I'll go and watch TV in bed for a change, an indulgence I don't let myself have enough if you ask me.

But it isn't long before the monotone of the newscaster acts as a powerful sleeping pill, sending me off into the land of nod way before I expected...with something I really, really do not expect waking me up again soon after.  
When I do wake again, television flickering in the corner I stretch my arms and move my legs, but then suddenly freeze and lie stiller than a statue when I feel two hands start to stroke their way up my thighs, and then push them apart, a set of lips kissing my hip bone while those hands glide up my sides. And then, then I feel the greatest pleasure in the world as a wet tongue meets my clit, and a pair of cool lips then wrap around it and begin to suck. My body arches off the bed and I groan, helpless but to feel anything but pleasure, each little quick beat of that tongue on my clit coupled with it being sucked at the same time incredible, so good I never, ever want it to stop. But it does, as that talented mouth kisses its way back up my body, emerging from under the covers.

'See, you really do want me. Didn't take much to persuade you did it?' Eric says, smiling down wickedly at me before I feel his mouth at my neck.

'When did you come back?' I ask him sleepily, feeling his lips now at my cheek.

'I didn't leave' he replies, mouth trailing back to my neck again and then the inevitable sound of fangs popping out before the almighty burning pain that is them sinking into my neck...

...And then I wake up. No, no, no, no I don't want this to start happening, I don't want dream about him as well as spend my waking moments thinking about him too. Yeah, I want him. I'll lay my cards on the table and admit it to you. But he's so fucking arrogant I don't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing it either...even if that is to my own detriment. Or is it?

Eric's POV.

Little does she know it, but something just happened then, something that (if I could feel fear any longer) would have frightened the hell out of me. But instead, it just made me even more curious, and also gave me the biggest feeling of chills I've felt in a long, long time; many centuries to be precise. When Tyra put her hand on my arm, as usual I felt that amazing energy running out of her and into me. But when I looked into her eyes, all I could see was the faces of my mother, father, brother and then my infant sister all flashing through my mind and all I could hear was the sound of one lone wolf howling. It was so, so strong I could barely stand it feeling either, something she transmitted into me, that sense of familiarity about her was so strong at that moment it's like the answer was on the tip of my tongue; but I still had no idea what it was. What is she? Just what the fuck is Tyra Boden? And why, why when I looked at her, did I see the family I have missed and mourned so much for a thousand years? WHY? I have to take drastic action here, I have to know her more, know her better, figure out why she affects me like this, why she's been sent to me, and just exactly what she is too. There's only one thing to do...

**Authors Note - Thank you all for the continued interest in this fic, and reviews left so far. I'd love to continue to hear your feedback on this too as the chapters progress, so further reviews would indeed be lovely. It's nice to hear what you think of my work, what you liked the most about the chapter you read etc, I love to really know how it's been received :) x**


	9. Chapter 9

Tyra's POV.

Six weeks. Six weeks have passed by now since I returned to my post as bookkeeper at Fangtasia, and in that time I think I've seen Eric about three times, if that. According to Pam, he's up to his eyes in 'vampire politics' right now, matters which she cannot divulge apparently. Not that I'd ever press her for information, it isn't my business is it? But in that time I have found myself becoming more trusted by the lady vampire, and forging a bond that does equal an actual friendship with her, even if she does still keep dropping hints about wanting to bed me, but she does it in a humorous, only half serious way. But let me get one thing straight, it isn't a typical friendship by any means; but then again neither of us is typically female. We don't sit and giggle whilst watching vile TV shows like Sex and the City (yak! I hate it!) or Gossip Girl or anything like that, we don't go on trips to the mall or out for cocktails (blood in Pam's case), or do any of that typical girly crap. We have a twist on it though...

'Now that you should get, it's more than worth what he wants for it too. It's authentic, I can tell you that better than he can' she tells me, coming to my side at the late night flea market we're currently visiting, searching for our joint passion; old and weird looking trinkets, stuff that regular women would more than turn their nose up at (taxidermy anyone? Didn't think so, and I just brought a stuffed rattlesnake). And right now the mirror I'm looking at fits that bill, beautiful and old gothic style (none of this new goth dragon or pentacle themed shit for me, I mean REAL gothic), made when Pam was about three years old, making it a hundred and...she'll drain me dry if I reveal the last digits in its age, because then you'll know how old she is and then calculate when she was made, and that's a secret she guards very closely. She's still very much human in that respect, and overall much more human in nature than Eric, even though you never forget for a second that she's a vampire. She's not all warm and cuddly at all, which suits me well because neither am I.

'Hmmmmm, yeah okay I'll take it' I reply, passing it over to the man hovering behind is stall, who takes it and begins to carefully wrap it up in bubble wrap, while I count the $250 he wants for it from my purse. That'll be me going without lunch for the next week to afford it then; I've had a couple of clients not pay me on a couple of invoices yet, and when it's the time of the month my mortgage payment is due things are a little tight. So it was probably pretty stupid of me to just buy that mirror, but what the hell. I'd have only sat and thought about it and kicked myself for not buying it as soon as I got home.

'So did you find anything at that pricey vintage clothing stall?' I ask her, since that's where she's just come from.

'A couple of corsets, one for you too' she replies, while I give her the 'Pam, you didn't have to' look before saying as much.

'Oh I absolutely had to! Watching Eric being able to pogo himself along on his own dick when he sees you in it is more than worth what it cost' she replies, making me roll my eyes and laugh with embarrassment.

'Then I'm not wearing it at work' I reply as we walk along to the next stall, Pam loosely linking her arm with mine.

'In that case you'll come and meet me at the club one night wearing it. Either way, I have to have the amusement value of watching him squirm when he sees how much it'll make your tits look like they're levitating' she replies, laughing a touch. She makes no secret of the fact that even though she has a hell of a lot of love and respect for Eric as her maker, she loves winding him up.

'I'm not interested in doing anything else to fuel that particular vampires want for me' I reply, shaking my head.

'Oh but you are. You love it when he flirts with you, and despite everything you say, you do flirt back Tyra. Why not just give up? Because I can tell you now, he won't give up; when he wants something he always gets it. And besides, you might just enjoy it. From what I've been told, he's not exactly bad, and not exactly small where it counts either' she replies, making me almost choke on the mouthful of Cherry Coke I've unscrewed the bottle cap on and taken a sip from. 'Now is that not incentive enough for you to just lighten the hell up, quit throwing me the 'I can't because he's my boss' line and just go and have sex with him? Because I can tell you, he'd be waiting with very, very open arms. I remember the last woman he wanted that he couldn't have, it was 1935, she was another vampire and her name was Christine, she was impossibly beautiful but she wasn't interested. He went through four girls a night, usually all together too, just to quell his want for her. And he's behaving like that all over again now, except its Deborah who's mostly getting the brunt of his frustrations' she then adds. I swear to god! That's the only thing that annoys me about her, she just will not let this idea of Eric and I making the beast with two backs go.

'Will you quit it! If I was going to fuck him I'd have done it by now!' Registering the fact I'm bordering on shrill, which only amuses my vampiric friend further.

'Never, it's too much fun' she replies, giving me a very devious look which only makes me roll my eyes for the second time in ten minutes in reply. What else can I say? I'm beginning to think it'd be easier to just have sex with him and get it out of the way so I can carry on as normal. But see here's the thing, as much as I'm not some old soft romantic at heart, a girl who wants to be treated like a princess or anything like that I do want to be valued as more than just a piece of meat. Which is exactly how Eric views women, and if I were to become involved with him, I'd want him to be able to offer me more than that, and it isn't fair of me to expect to get it either when I know full well he isn't capable of it. Which is something I voice to Pam on the drive back to my place, it being a Sunday and Fangtasia being closed on a Sunday meaning she has tonight off.

'So you're interest in him goes beyond physical then? Oh my' she replies lightly.

'No, no that's now what I'm saying. I don't even know him well enough to judge that. What I'm saying is I don't like just hopping into bed with someone because all they think of me is that I'm hot. I'm worth more than that, and as I said he can't offer it' I reply earnestly.

'He does have respect for you though, he told me as much. He likes how you stand up to him, how you aren't scared. He seldom ever finds people like that. But, I do agree with what you have to say, he couldn't give you what you're looking for in other respects' she replies. And that's the last time Eric's name is mentioned this evening. But, when you speak of the devil, it isn't long before he appears again...

'What are you doing?' I ask sharply as I see Eric's reflection in the computer monitor, watching him press two hands to my shoulders. It's Wednesday, three days since my flea market outing with Pam, where he was last discussed.

'Well I could have been being nice to you and giving your shoulders a massage, but since you've snapped at me I guess you'll never know' he replies in his usual flat tone, with just a touch of humour there too.

'Lies, you were doing that thing, feeling my energy or whatever the hell it is I do to you, which makes me feel kind of violated in a way' I reply as he takes his hands off my shoulders, and then leans in close to the computer.

'You need to deduct $500 from that week as a personal expense. I didn't have time to note it down' he tells me efficiently, suddenly turning his head to the side and staring at me for a few moments, making me feel like my cheek is burning. 'And you have absolutely no idea how amazing your energy feels to vampires. I've asked others here who've met you, it isn't just me and Pam who think it' he then adds.  
'And what does this energy feel like?' I ask him, curious to know why I appear to be to vampires what catnip is to felines.

'A little bit like an orgasm' he says, looking me dead in the eyes with the last word of his sentence, a slight smile crooking the corner of his mouth. 'But much gentler, less explosive, almost healing' he then adds, while I just nod and look puzzled no doubt.

'If only I felt the same thing off you, I might fuck you then' I cant help but say, really actually only meaning to think it, and watching his eyebrows rise a little as he stares on at me, and then walks toward me and leans down, until his mouth is so close to my ear I can almost feel his lips graze the lobe.  
'But you will, one day. One day the temptation of knowing you could have all this between your legs, pleasuring you more than any other man ever has or will, for hours on end will just be too much for you to refuse' he whispers, straightening up again and slowly winking at me before turning, and leaving the office; and me feeling like someone sucked all the air out of my lungs. And then half an hour later, the mood changes totally when he comes back.

'Out' he spits, pointing at the door as he and two other vampires enter.

'I beg your pardon?' I ask, looking up.

'Out! Now! Go talk to Pam about shoes or whatever, just get the fuck out I need my office' he replies coldly, leaving me no choice but to look disgruntled as I get up and leave. I swear he has the biggest split personality in the world. It's like; you never quite know where you stand with him, even though he's never anything short of brutally honest.  
'What's with your face?' Pam snorts when I arrive by her side at the door.

'Eric being hostile' I reply, taking a sip of the glass of rarely enjoyed Coke I got at the bar on my way over. I kinda wish it was alcoholic, but I know when I'm as tired as I am at present all I'll want to do is curl up and go to sleep. And too many sugary drinks give me a fat belly, hence why I stick to juices and water for my non alcoholic options.

'He's on usual form then' she replies, with obvious affection for Eric, yet a little sympathy for me too.

'Oh yes' I reply, before her attention is called away to stop two very underage looking people from entering the bar, their eventual showing of their fake ID cards not enough to fool her, scuttling away quickly when her temper starts to rise.

'A lawyer my ass, he didn't even look old enough to stand up in court as the accused!' she announces as she comes back to my side. We stand and engage in chatter for about half an hour, until I see the office become free again as Eric and his associates exit it, and so I head back down to continue my work in peace, without any interruptions, flirty or nasty or otherwise. Because of this it only takes me another twenty five minutes to finish my work load, looking forward to heading out and straight around to Lafayette's place for dinner. I take him up on his dinner invites as often as I can, that man is a superb cook and since it's one thing I just cannot do (toast and a simple pasta dish are about the only thing I can get right) it makes a change from getting a quick take out meal or waiting in a diner or restaurant all by myself just to eat alone too. But, it seems my getaway from the club isn't going to be as quick and clean as I'd like, as when I'm making my way towards the doors, one of Eric's dancers/bar workers Ginger comes running out from behind the bar at me. She's very sweet for someone so stupid.

'Tyra! Y'all don't happen to be any good with a needle and thread do ya? I bust my shoe and I've gotta get up and dance in ten minutes, and I don't have a spare pair!' she whines at me with urgency, showing me the broken ankle strap on her PVC high heeled pumps.

'I'll give it a go' I reply, taking the shoe and threaded needle from her and following her back behind the bar, taking a seat right at the very end and seeing what I can do with her shoe.

'Thank you so much sugar!' she replies, looking greatly relieved that I've been able to come to her aid. And so I sit and double up the thread so it's extra strong, and begin to sew the snapped piece of strap containing the dainty silver buckle back onto the long piece of the strap. It's as I'm busy doing this that I feel a presence by my side, and turn to see Deborah looking at me curiously.

'How does it feel?' she asks me.

'How does what feel?' I reply, looking up at her and away from Ginger's little shoe.

'To be wanted so badly by something so powerful' she then tells me, as I follow her gaze and turn to see Eric, sat above his 'disciples' on the club stage, staring right at me.

'You tell me, you're the one fucking him' I reply, not nastily or jealously at all. Deborah is alright.

'I wouldn't know doll, because he's never looked at me in the same way he looks at you. Not even when he's inside me' she replies, before a customer gains her attention and she excuses herself politely to go serve him and his friends drinks, leaving me to turn my attention back to the size 4 shoe in my hands and continue to fix the strap, while I can feel Eric's gaze get heavier, and heavier...and heavier. The air feels thick right now, dense, like I can't breathe through it because of his continual gaze, or it could just be the fact that since I've been sitting out here in the club a gaggle of vampires have all drifted closer to me, all frequenting tables near me or propping up the bar near to where I'm sat at the end, all staring at me with keen interest, and doing nothing but make me sew up the shoe strap at double speed, giving it back to Ginger and getting the hell out of here as quickly as I can. Or try to at least.

'Shit, Tyra we just got a late delivery and I know you want to get off home as quickly as possible, but would you mind just carrying this case down to the store room? The other girls and I can manage the rest' Pam tells me, as I see a FedEx man looking nervous, like Pam's just completely chewed him out no doubt (which I'd say she probably has) waiting for a signature for four boxes full of Fangtasia merchandise.

'No problem' I reply, swinging my bag over my shoulder a little further so it doesn't slip down my arm while I'm carrying the box full of t shirts across the club and down to the stairs that lead to the store room. And as I walk across the club, I notice that Eric is no longer present, but it's a damn shame I don't notice that someone has spilled a drink right next to the open stock room door, not until I've slipped on it, the box has gone up in the air, and I begin my long, painful descent down the iron staircase, feeling things snap, tear, and pull as I try to grasp onto something to stop me from falling, and then everything going hazy when my body comes to a stop at the bottom, my head being the first thing to land as it pounds hard off the concrete floor, and even though only partly conscious, I'm in the most unbearable pain I've ever felt before...

Eric's POV.

It worked. But still, I really didn't expect her to take quite such a nasty fall down the L shaped stairs that lead down to the stock room. I heard Pam asking for her help to carry the boxes down, and saw the opportunity I've been looking for to give Tyra my blood and heal her immediately, so moved quickly through the club to spill a glass of water right in front of the steps, and then waited in the darkness to sweep in. Except I was only expecting her to slip over and bang her head on the first part of the staircase, it never crossed my mind that at being nearly six feet tall in heels, her long body would mean she'd fall much further than I thought, around the L shaped bend and straight down the thirty iron steps that lead down. And now I have to deal with the fact her broken and battered body, bleeding out heavily from her head is lying motionless at the foot of the stairs, with Ginger (who was behind her yet didn't fall) screaming in horror as she races down the stairs after her. I reach her side first though, and assess the damage, which is much, much more considerable than I ever intended. Oh well, she'll hurt for a bit until my blood heals her, but the main thing here is that I'll be able to finally gain a deeper understanding of who or what she is if she drinks of me; that is what is most in question here, not her injuries. Even though of course, I do have to make it look like a give a shit that she's badly hurt.

'OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD SHE'S GONNA DIE ERIC! HER LEGS ARE BROKEN, HER BACK'S ALL MANGLED UP AND HER HEAD...AHHHHHHHHHHHH!' Ginger screams, as suddenly Pam's blur comes to a stop in front of us, and her eyes widen a little as she takes in Tyra and her extensive injuries.

'Eric, her head..' she begins, while I sit down at her side and gently cradle her head in my lap, pressing my fingers to her temple to stem the large gash that's pumping her blood out all over the floor.

'I know Pam, do me a favour and get rid of the harpy' I reply, nodding at a hysterical Ginger while Pam does what she's been instructed, giving Tyra one last concerned (or as concerned as a vampire can look) glance before she leaves, and I look down to see her move slightly, a heavy moan of agony escaping her lips, eyelids scrunching tightly as her head lolls around, barely conscious.

'Tyra, listen to me or you're going to die. Your head is gushing blood and your vertebrae are broken and sticking out of your back amongst other injuries. You have to drink my blood, and quickly' I tell her, faking all the urgency she might be able to hear in my voice. Like I said, I have to sound convincingly concerned. I bite my wrist and then hold it to her mouth, watching my blood drip onto her lips as she parts them, just enough strength to latch on and drink, while I do the same to the gash on her head that's pulsing blood out all over us and the floor. Stem the bleeding, and get to taste her at the same time. Good thinking Eric. Once she's drank enough from me to heal her, I pull my wrist away with a little struggle (you'd be surprised just how palatable 1,000 year old vampire blood is, because of how it makes you feel inside when you drink it), while I pull my own mouth away from her wound as I feel her blood begin to run through me, and watch the temple gash begin to close up...as the strangest feeling ever not so much takes hold of me, but holds me as fast as silver would. Suddenly, I feel my own power triple by what feels like a thousand, coursing through my veins and making me feel so strong I feel like I could destroy whole planets, my senses sharpen even more and I just feel so much more...alive. Not human, but alive. Yet with that comes something I've never felt, something I can feel creeping over me like a fog...guilt. Tremendous, all consuming guilt, and a sudden genuine concern for her wellbeing I haven't felt towards anyone as a vampire, ever.

'Eric, do-don't l-let me die' she croaks weakly, even though she's healing she's still out of it, half here half not.

'I'd never let anything bad happen to you, ever' I tell her as I stroke her face, trailing blood all over her lily white cheeks, thinking over and over 'what have I done to her?' as the guilt keeps on hitting me, as do all the overwhelming feelings of concern for her. And I can't block them, I can't make them go away, it's like someone's cast a spell over me. I'm suddenly not myself anymore, I'm someone who deeply cares for the wellbeing of the beautiful blonde in his arms, and I can't stop it. And more than that...I don't want it to stop either, the pull I feel to her is so strong as I lift her up in my arms carefully, and move at speed until I'm down another level in my apartment, gently placing her down on the bed and lying next to her, not caring at all that she's getting blood all over a very expensive bed linen set, not caring about anything else other than her. Everything else has just fallen away.

'Try not to move, you're going to be okay. Everything's okay now Tyra. You fell down the stairs, but you'll be fine' I tell her soothingly as she tries to move one of her arms, which I guess is shattered at the elbow just by how horrific it looks. Vampire blood may heal you, and mine at a faster rate than most, but it does take a little time. I lie there and watch as her legs mend themselves and her arms and fingers all knitting back together, all the cuts she suffered now fully healed over. I know it's just her blood making me feel like this too, but I can't stop it, the feeling of concern over her and loathing at myself for doing this to something so beautiful, and I see that beauty in her a million times more strongly now. It does finally seal the deal for me that she's definitely not human though...no human blood would affect a vampire like this...and I nearly killed whatever she is. How could I do that to her?

'Try to sleep, I know you're fighting it but you must rest' I tell her, watching her trying to open her eyes and lift her head.

'Stay with me?' she asks, in more of a mutter than anything.

'I'm not leaving your side, I promise. I'll be right here when you wake up' I reply, stroking her head and resting mine on top of the pillow above hers, my other arm carefully wrapping around her, feeling her link her fingers through mine and hold my hand with as much strength as she can muster, turning her head and kissing my throat.

'Good, I don't want you to go, just stay with me' she replies hazily, while I nod, squeeze her hand as tight as I dare to, and lie there with her stroking her head until she's asleep. But still, long after she's fallen asleep I genuinely don't want to, and can't leave her side. Whatever she is, her blood has pulled me a thousand times closer to her, and it would seem mine has had a similar effect too for she seemed no more able, willing, or wanting in desire to pull away from me either.

**Authors note - Thank you very much for the continued interest and reviews! Keep them coming girls, and I'll keep the chapters 'a rolling! x**


	10. Chapter 10

Tyra's POV.

When I open my eyes, at first I forget where I am, my head feeling cloudy still, and then I remember the painful swan dive I took down the store room staircase, and Eric saving me from the injuries that probably would have killed me. And then before I have time to ponder any further, he lifts his head and smiles down at me.

'Hello' he whispers, hand stroking my cheek while I smile back up at him, something feeling very, very different with him, like something has formed yet melted away at the same time. 'How do you feel now?' he then asks me, still stroking my face while instinctively rather than consciously I reach up and curl my fingers around his forearm, gently stroking the hard muscle beneath the cold skin. He feels lovely, just cool in temperature is all. How could I ever find him a turn off just because his body temperature is lower than mine? And why are we suddenly acting like this with one another? And why do I really, really like it?

'Better, tired still, but better' I reply, watching him nod.

'You will do, a fractured skull tends to do that and you probably did crack it when you fell' he tells me. 'You'll be fine though, don't worry you'll be fine' he then assures me when I pull a worried face. I just smile in reply, while I feel my insides slip into a kind of euphoria, and I just turn over onto my side, him doing the same as he lies back down, and I just curl up against him, feeling him wrap one hell of a powerful arm around me. Apparently this is how some people do feel after drinking vampire blood, but why is he acting how I feel? Is my blood doing things to him? You know, I don't care right now. All I care about is that he stays here with me. I don't want him to go.

'It's just occurred to me, I never asked you what part of Sweden you were from?' he suddenly says, while I think it funny but still, nice of him to ask. Random too.

'I'm from Oskarshamn, what about you?' I reply and ask, my hand resting on his chest, nails stroking that crease between his pectoral muscles.

'Oland' he replies, as I feel his hand idly begin to stroke my lower back.

'Aka the windiest place on earth, I used to visit it a lot as a child, my grandmother lived in Borgholm, where my mother was originally from so we used to get the ferry across to visit her, and we'd go down to Oland a lot. I don't remember much of it because I was so small at the time, but I remember it being very beautiful' I reply, the comfortableness of talking to him like this, more intimately, feeling so wonderful.

'Very beautiful, and yes, draughty' he replies. 'You know, I helped build one of the first roads that ran between Oland and Borgholm. It took three years, I started out a child of ten and finished a man of thirteen, as I'm sure you know Vikings were considered men at thirteen' he replies, while I nod. I did know, I take a big interest in the history of my country and its people; one of whom I'm lying in the arms of right now. But yet somewhere in my blood fuelled haze, this tranquil, high plane I feel I'm on with him, I know it isn't real. It feels like a dream, not real life. At any moment now, I'm expecting him to snap back and leave me up here in bliss by myself...except it doesn't happen. We just lie here, talking, swapping little pieces of information about each other, until against my will since I don't want to go back to sleep, I begin to yawn and can't stop.

'You need to go back to sleep, and I think I do too' he says, moving his arm from around me and wiping a spot of blood that's just about to run from his nose.

'Why is your nose bleeding?' I ask him.

'It's called the bleeds, it happens when a vampire doesn't rest, and I didn't rest at all today' he replies, while I glance at my watch and see the time is 11.46pm, meaning since I was just about to leave at six thirty I've been down here with him for almost five hours. 'I'll be back in a minute, I have to fetch you something appropriate to wear to bed. You cannot sleep in bloodied clothes' he tells me, sounding efficient yet caring at the same time, smiling and taking my hand to kiss my fingertips, and then getting up and walking through the apartment and out of the door. And as soon as it's gone, even in my haze I lay there and try and ponder all of this, why we're acting so closely, but not sexually at all. It's...affectionate. It's strange too, but before I can think on how strange it is any further, Pam enters, carrying a small neatly folded pile of clothes in her arms.

'These are to sleep in, and these are for the morning. The bathroom is just back there, go get changed and have a wash, and then bring me back these dirties when you're done' she tells me, tugging at the sleeve of my blood soiled grey top. She then takes a simple thin black cotton top, and a pair of pants and passes them to me, giving me a gentle push in the back to help as I get up slowly, stretching before picking up my bag too and heading for the bathroom, where I find the biggest free standing bathtub in existence, in a gorgeous bathroom suite made from black marble, with a white sink, toilet (even though he doesn't need one being a vampire and all, but I guess it just comes with), HUGE shower in the corner and said massive bath providing a stark contrast. It's nice though. I wash my face quickly, removing the trails and streaks of dried blood that were there, also cleaning a little that ran into my hair too, managing to comb the rest out since it's dried, and then tie back my hair, throw my comb back into my bag and pull out my small tube of hand lotion, using it for both my hands and face since I have nothing else with me (and am just about on even mental keel enough to make myself do this) before taking off my clothes and changing into the ones donated to me, before heading back out again, Pam holding her hands out for my pile of clothes I've wrapped up in a bundle and putting my bag down at the side of the bed, pulling out a small bottle of water I nearly always keep in there and taking a few gulps.

'You rest now, he'll be back soon. See you tomorrow' she tells me, surprisingly being more affectionate than usual by kissing her fingertips and pressing them softly to my forehead. In terms of affection, that's big for her. And so I get in under the covers, loving the feel of how soft the cotton is against my skin and guessing they must be Egyptian like mine, except way more expensive. And I bled on them, and he didn't shout. I turn the pillow over and lie down on my back, blinking heavily and trying to keep my eyes awake and wide, so I can see Eric before I fall asleep again. And then, like I called him silently and he heard, I hear the door open and close, and then see him standing at the side of the bed, undressing to a pair of tight fitting black boxer shorts and getting into bed next to me. I turn onto my side and he moves closer to lie behind me, wrapping an arm around me, and giving my shoulder a kiss.

'Sleep well' he tells me, and I try to answer him, but the allure of sleep is just way, way too strong...

Since the lamp in the very far corner of the apartment was left on last night, when I wake up I have just enough light to look at my watch and see its 6.15am, and I'm still lying under Eric's arm, which, like the front of his body at least, is warm to the touch. Apparently if a vampire spends enough time next to a heat source they retain warmth too. Like if you put a stone in front of an open fireplace, the cold exterior would be warm to the touch and stay warm as long as you left it there. It feels nice, and I feel much better, more myself and less off with the fairies, all spaced out on vampire blood.  
And so I move his arm carefully and slide out of bed, gathering the clothes Pam lent me and picking up my bag, taking my bottle of water off the night stand and adding that to my bag before making my way to the bathroom quietly to dress and wash my face, then stuff in a few sticks of gum and chew heartily to wake up my mouth since I have no toothbrush with me. I then stuff everything back into my bag, including the top and pants Pam gave to me to put through the wash for her, and head back out of the bathroom again, sliding my feet into my shoes and just standing by the side of the bed for a few moments, looking down at a sleeping Eric and wondering, if not hoping a little, that the kindness he showed me last night will last. Because, as hard as it is to admit to myself, I liked it; but I'm scared to like it. Somewhere in the back of my head, I have that 'it's all too good to be true' feeling, one that I suppose will be confirmed to me to be true or not since he's just opened his eyes.

'Are you leaving? Why?' he asks me, moving over to the side of the bed my body once occupied and reaching out for me, his hand stroking my inner thigh. I guess I have my answer then.

'I need to get home, my cat needs to be fed and I have so much else I need to do too. But I'll be back later on' I tell him, watching him smile and nod.

'Until later then, by the way you'll need a key to let yourself out, there's one on an orange tag behind the register in the bar, use that and put it back when you come back later' he tells me.

'I will. And Eric? Thank you again, you saved my life' I tell him, so grateful to him for acting so quickly, and looking after me so well after my accident too.

'Don't mention it. You look beautiful this morning by the way' he compliments me with, while I bend down to his level and lay a kiss on his forehead, feeling his hand stroke my cheek.

'Thank you, until later then' I reply, echoing his words to me before I turn and leave quietly, letting myself out of his apartment and heading upstairs, locating the key he told me about from behind the bar before opening the front door and letting myself out into the bright spring March morning, and heading over to my car feeling like a new woman. Eric's blood is certainly healing, and even though whatever else it did to me has worn off a little now, I still can't help that 'dancing on air' feeling I have that something about me, be it my blood or otherwise, has changed him in his demeanour considerably. I cannot help but feel a little special because of that. And to be honest, I can't wait to see him later either. I don't know what's happening between us, but it just feels so different now. Mainly because not once all through the night, did he try one sexual advance with me, and I just didn't feel anything like that either. Even at the sight of that body, so beautifully rippled with muscles he looks like a Greek god, did I feel any wanton aches of lust for him. I was just so happy he was by my side, as he seemed to be with me too. But even still, no matter that he was just the same when he awoke before I left, I still somehow get the feeling this is all too easy, all too good to be true. I guess only time will tell.

As soon as I'm home I throw all of Pam's clothes into the wash (the red shirt and black pants she gave me to wear today wouldn't have needed the wash, but I ended up spilling a takeout coffee I brought en route home all down myself) and change into a new pair of grey sweats I brought whilst out shopping with Anna and baby Myra (who, even though I don't like babies, is very beautiful) last weekend and also a cropped vest top, and do some stretches and a few gentle aerobic exercises before getting down on the floor to do my normal morning routine of two hundred sit ups, before I get up, give Poon some food (or rather lay it out in wait for her, she's not home from her nightly escapades just yet), and then take my house keys again and zip them into my sweats pocket once I've locked the front door again, firing out a quick apology text to Lafayette for standing him up last night, and explaining that I will visit him later to explain why I was a no show for dinner, before calling up the music player on my i-phone, plugging in the earphones and sprinting off into the forest for a nice long morning jog. Last night I nearly died, multiple fractures wrecking my body, and now just twelve hours later here I am running hell for leather through the beautiful forest, nothing hurting, and nothing aching. Vampire blood is remarkable stuff. It's just a shame that the vampire who gave it to me doesn't stay as remarkable as I remember him to have been to me though, when I see him again eleven hours later...

'Here you are, all freshly washed' Pam tells me as she comes into the office, placing my neatly folded pile of clothes down on the desk as she sits opposite me, while I pick up the carrier bag containing hers and pass it over to her.

'Snap' I reply, watching her take the bag from me with a little smile.

'So you're all fully rested and recovered now?' she asks, checking over me with curious eyes.

'I am' I reply, watching her begin to smile a little more.

'And...I'm dying to know, you spent the night with Eric, did...' she begins before I cut her up.

'No Pamela!' I begin. 'He kept his hands to himself, as did I. Actually, he was the perfect gentleman' I reply, while Pam tries to not look as surprised as she does by my revelation.

'Oh, that's...strange' she says, looking quite baffled.

'I know, weird huh? But kind of nice too, to see a different side of him' I reply, watching her nodding, and looking thoughtful before she looks at me, and then looks away, and then right at me again, like there's something she wants to tell me, but like she doesn't know if she should.

'Tyra, be careful' is all she manages in the end, giving me a look that says way more than her words before she gets up and leaves. And I know I can trust Pam with this, at her age she hasn't totally forgotten her human emotions, and I see that in her being a friend to me, warning me like that. Because it doesn't take me very long to see how right she was when she told me to be careful...

I'm just a few sums away from being finished when Eric comes into the office at 6.15pm. I look up and smile at him, and receive not a flicker in return; he just folds his arms and stares at me.

'Are you going to be long?' he asks, his tone cold, crisp, the usual again.

'About ten minutes, then I'm done for the week' I reply, not looking away from the computer screen.

'Well hurry the fuck up, I have business to attend to, and you're in my way as per usual' he replies with a sneer. Oh yeah, Eric's back, that lovely vampire who held me in his arms all night long a very long way away from the one standing in front of me, arms folded across his broad chest, the chest I spent so long stroking last night.

'Of course' I reply, suddenly every urge to be sarcastic and stand up for myself in front of him just gone. I can't be bothered to battle him, but maybe I can appease him. I quickly finish and then unhook my hard drive from the computer, gathering my belongings and then pulling something from my bag, a thank you present for him if you like.

'Here, these are to replace the ones I ruined, and also to thank you again for saving my life' I tell him quietly, while I pass him a packaged bundle of Egyptian cotton sheets that I couldn't really afford, but decided to buy earlier today anyway. He takes them from me, looks them over, sniffs, and then picks up the trash bin and dunks them straight in it.

'I don't like cheap rubbish' he tells me spitefully.

'They weren't cheap at three hundred dollars a set' I reply, my insides prickled at his actions.

'The ones you ruined cost three thousand, so yes, they are. Idiot' he replies, in a matter of fact tone.

'Fine, since you won't be needing them I might as well take them back' I reply, reaching over, snatching them back out of the trash can he's holding, and storming out, absolutely furious at myself that I even dared to think anything could be different. How fucking naive am I? He's a cold, nasty, manipulative vampire, and whatever he was last night, he isn't about to return to that any time soon, so I might as well just forget about it, that Eric is long gone. And the one who's come hurtling back, well, he doesn't mean very much at all, so why bother getting upset? But, on the drive home as I listen to the radio for a change, I hear a song by a girl called Nelly Furtado (whoever she may be, I don't follow mainstream music at all), and I can't help but be struck by some of the lyrics of the song she's singing, thinking of Eric as I listen...

_In the day  
In the night  
Say it right  
Say it all  
You either got it  
Or you don't  
You either stand or you fall  
When your will is broken  
When it slips from your hand  
When there's no time for joking  
There's a hole in the plan_

_Oh you don't mean nothing at all to me  
No you don't mean nothing at all to me  
But you got what it takes to set me free  
Oh you could mean everything to me_

_I can't say that I'm not lost and at fault  
I can't say that I don't love the light and the dark  
I can't say that I don't know that I am alive  
And all of what I feel I could show  
You tonight you tonight_

_Oh you don't mean nothing at all to me  
No you don't mean nothing at all to me  
But you got what it takes to set me free  
Oh you could mean everything to me_

_From my hands I could give you  
Something that I made  
From my mouth I could sing you another brick that I laid  
From my body I could show you a place God knows  
You should know the space is holy  
Do you really want to go?_

...but if he means nothing to me, then why does it hurt so much right now? But, as it happens, I don't have to deal with Eric again for a while, since on Monday at 6pm, I receive a text message from Pam, which reads the following-

'Tyra, don't come back to work, do not come anywhere near Fangtasia at all until either Eric or I contact you. Do NOT contact us at all until you've heard from one of us first'. I don't know what that means exactly, but it sounds very important, and secretive too since she sent me the text all in Swedish. And I just hope Pam is okay...Eric I really couldn't give a shit about though. At least that's what I tell myself now...

**Authors note - Thank you very much for the continued interest and reviews! Keep them coming girls, and I'll keep the chapters 'a rolling! x**


	11. Chapter 11

**Authors note - Just to say there are some scenes and some dialogue directly copied here from True Blood season 3, which remains the property of the writers for said TV show, and is of course not mine. Just wanted to cover myself here girls lol. And I'd also like to take the time to thank you all for continuing to read and review! Kindness is always rewarded, so here have another chapter! xx**

Eric's POV.

Up until six weeks ago, the only real concern I had to occupy my thoughts, actions and plans was getting to the bottom of the whole Tyra Boden mystery, but since then, there's been more pressing matters I've needed to attend to, all revolving around a hell of a lot of vampire politics, some that concerns me, and some that doesn't. But, it was through one aspect that did concern me that I attained information about another matter of mine, a thirst for vengeance I've carried for over a thousand years, but first let me fill you in on the story so far...

As you will know, through Lafayette I have been selling V for the queen of Louisiana, Sophie Anne. And two weeks ago I received a visit from her and the magister, informing me that they suspect a vampire within her kingdom to be selling V to the human population, and then three days after that my club was raided, stashed V found, and Pam was taken prisoner. When I arrived she thought on her feet very quickly and blamed the V dealing on Bill Compton, with the magister then giving me a deadline of two days to bring Compton to him. So then, I travelled to Jackson, Mississippi to strike a deal with the king of the aforementioned state, and that was for help in taking over Sophie Anne's kingdom, in return for him helping me secure release of Pam. This was done, as well as the (very unluckily for Sophie Anne) forced marriage via torture of the magister between her and the king, meaning he took control of Louisiana as well as Mississippi, before the magister was slain by Edgington. And so the devious fuck should have been. I'd have killed him myself purely for what he did to Pam. And so this brings us nicely up to date, Pam has been released and between her and the only fully trustworthy human I know (Deborah) are keeping Fangtasia running while I'm still here in Jackson, kissing the king's ass enough to worm my way in with him, and keep searching for what I'm really here to look for; evidence. Evidence to pin the murder of my entire family right on his royal highness, and the werewolves he used to carry out his dirty work. Godric and I spent many, many years tracking down a group of them who were fuelled by vampire blood, trying to discover who their master was, and of course bring him down for crimes so heinous against our species. And when the same band of weres, all gorged on V arose locally again, and I discovered they were under the control of Edgington, well why don't you put two and two together and tell me what you come up with. Yes, I am more than just a touch convinced it was the king who wiped out my entire family...and all I need now is the solid proof I know I will find within his mansion.

'Please, you must see the rest of Russell's collection' Talbot, the king's husband tells me as I view a scroll of 16th century Japanese vampire erotica, mid way through a tour of the mansion and all the collectables Edgington has amassed over the last three thousand years. Opening the display/storage case fully, I wander over closer, where inside I see it; I see it again after more than a thousand years...

'And this?' I enquire, picking up my fathers' crown from its stand.

'Some random tribal crown, he must have hundreds of them. This one's Scythian I think' Talbot drawls in reply.

'Viking' I correct him, before my mind goes back to the very last time I saw it...

I remember bringing Astrid, my younger sister in to my mother after I'd heard her cries for attention, and then sat down to eat dinner with them. Before I could even take the first bite of my meal my father and mother both scolded me for spending so much time with our servant who cared for the goats, light hearted at first, until of course, Arvid became stern with his words, telling me I needed to grow up, that I couldn't spend my life between a woman's legs, that I had to learn responsibility, which did fall upon somewhat deaf nineteen year old ears. He wanted me to learn to be a king, to precede him well, except I always told him 'later, another day, not now' with much petulance towards him. Teenagers haven't changed much through the centuries have they? Except nowadays it's more 'I'll tidy my room later' rather than 'I'll learn how to be a king later'. And so after a heated confrontation, I left in search of pleasures fonder with the servant girl once more. Until the sounds of mayhem came filtering through to the barn where we were locked in a tryst, and I charged back into the homestead to witness werewolves ripping my family apart, my brother Felix lying dead, the baby slain in her manger, my beautiful mother torn apart on the floor, and my father still fighting.

'Eric! Behind you!' He called out to me, just in time for me to draw my sword and slay an oncoming wolf, but not giving me enough time to save him from the one who dived upon him, and tore his throat out before picking up his crown in his mouth.

'Bring me the crown' a voice spoke from outside, and as I rushed to the side of my dying father, trying to save him in vain, I saw him. The dark shadowy figure swathed in a black cloak, who took the crown from the wolf.

'Don't be a hero Viking' he told me, as I made a start towards him, sword drawl and held high, before he turned and vanished into the night, leaving me to return to my dying fathers' side.

'Father, look at me' I told him, holding his head in my hands.

'You are king' he gasped through blood curdled, final agonising breaths.

'No! I won't allow it!' I replied, desperate for him not to die, shouting for help that never came.

'You know what to do' he croaked. 'Vengeance' he then added.

'Vengeance' I repeated as I nodded, his blood running out all over my hands, his head slumping back and his eyelids fluttering until...he died.

'It's beautiful' I tell Talbot, coming around from my flashback, feeling pure venom with a thousand years of potency fuelling its way through my body, making it hard for me to remain composed yet I manage it. I must manage it, I must.

'Quite' he replies, eyeing me with curiosity. And before he has the time to become more curious over my demeanour, I place the crown back and turn to him.

'I neglected to tell you and Russell that I will be away tonight, I have a little business to attend to, so I'm afraid our pleasant evening must come to an end a little prematurely. I shall return though, before sunrise' I tell him, watching Talbot look disappointed.

'Ahhh Eric, and our evening has been so lovely up until this point. I cannot say I am not disappointed by this, but business is, after all, business' he replies lightly, while I nod and exit the room, and the mansion, and the state at speed, flying back to Louisiana, and coming to a stop somewhere on the outskirts of Bon Temps, in the middle of a huge forest, where I cannot move any further, my mind taken over completely by more flashbacks from the time I was human...

'Arvid! Arvid! Come quickly, the baby is taking his first steps!' Yes, my infant memories stretch back as far as this, to being a year old and walking with small, unbalanced steps to my mother's outstretched arms, her smile so bright and wide it was like the sunshine itself, laughing with mirth as she beheld me, her first born, walking to her. I then remember my father running in, crouching at her side with his arms around her, smiling too.

'That's it! That's it little Viking! Another step, we'll have him up on a horse before he's even reached his third year Lydia' he said encouragingly, the joy in his voice at watching me walk to them still ringing in my ears now. And then I reached them, and was bundled up in their arms, and showered with the love and praise they bestowed on me and my siblings always...

'Less tension in the bow, or you'll fire the arrow clean over the target' my father told me, as he stood by the side of my seven year old self, teaching me my first lesson in archery. And so I released the arrow and watched it sail through the air, hitting the target of a large piece of tree trunk, upon which my father had carved a huge X for me to hit the centre of. The first five attempts had either sailed right past this target, but this one hit it dead on in the centre.

'You will make a fine archer one day, my son' he told me, holding my face in his hands and tenderly kissing my forehead while I beamed with pride. I would have done anything to have made him proud, except maybe the one thing I really needed to in the end...something my teenage petulance prevented me from understanding the importance of. And before I knew it, tomorrow was too late, and I could never say 'tomorrow, I will learn tomorrow' to him again, for he was gone...my beautiful mother too...

'Little man, you should be the one to look after me' I remember her telling me as she lay under my bed covers with me, stroking my head and soothing me when I was frightened during a storm. I always thought the lightning was going to come down and hit me. And to this day, I still do not enjoy storms.

'I will when I'm big enough, I promise mother' I replied, drying my tear stained eyes and feeling her to the same, her soft fingers stroking my cheeks so lovingly as she held me close, my hands entwining themselves in her beautiful, soft, light blonde curls, listening as she sang to me...

'The clouds are dark, and the sky is grey, but if you sleep now...'

'...tomorrow the morning will steal it all away' I finish, back in the here and now, sitting down on a fallen tree trunk, blood tears trickling down my cheeks as I can still hear her sweet voice, singing the rest of the lullaby to me that she made up herself, to sing to me when the thunder and lightning raged all around, to ease my worried infant mind to sleep. And now I have nothing, nothing to comfort the thousand years of pain, anger and torment I've carried with me...except maybe one thing, other than the bloody vengeance I will wreak upon Russell Edgington. But right now, only one other thing will ease what I've tried too hard to forget, and had until I saw my fathers' crown...

Tyra's POV.

'You have absolutely no idea how relieved I am to see your name flashing up on my cell!' I practically bark with relief as I answer my phone to Pam, the first correspondence I've had with her for the last three weeks, since she sent me the text telling me to stay away from Fangtasia. 'What on earth has been going on?' I then ask, before she get's chance to even reply to my first statement.

'I appreciate you've been worried for me, but I'm absolutely fine, so you don't need to fret any longer. I just called you to say we've been back in business for a week now, so there's a weeks' worth of books for you to come in and get started with. And as for what's been going on, I don't want to sound rude but I just cannot tell you. It's Eric's business and he's tied up with a hell of a lot of problems right now, if it's anyone's job to tell you it's his. So how are you?' she replies in her usual cool tone, while I move through to my lounge and flop down on my back on the couch, removing a magazine that sticks in my spine and throwing it on the floor before making myself comfortable leaning back against a pillow.

'That's fine Pam, you know I never pry into vampire business anyway, it isn't my concern. Just as long as you're okay, and as for what I've been up to, ahhhh just the usual mundane crap, working, working, working, and trying to fit in some sort of a social life between it all' I reply, twirling a strand of my hair around my finger as we chat, more catching up on what I've been up to rather than her, since she's told me that is confidential information. I'm just glad to hear from her again, and with that get my routine back on track, even though I cannot deny I will miss the extra time that I had. But knowing a friend is safe and well is worth more than mere spare time on my hands. We end the call with me telling her I'll see her in two days (it's Monday today) and I then chill out and read a bit more of my new book (an biography on Countess Elizabeth Bathory, a truly fascinating woman), before the call of my office becomes too much to bear, and I head to it to battle with sums for a few more hours. I do intend to get an early night tonight, somewhere before 2am would be a nice time to slip under my covers methinks.

I attack my work with gusto, and before midnight passes I've managed to finish the books for Merlotte's, Sinclair's Auto's and Flourish, Hartford and Bennett, a legal firm in the centre of Shreveport. It's just as I'm having the idea of powering down for the night that I hear a tap on the glass of my screen door, and wonder if it's a stoned Lafayette wandering over for a visit, but then remembering he's still working right now. And so I venture out of my little office and head down the hall into the lounge, and then turn to see Eric standing outside. And at first I frown heavily at him, starting for the door with my shoulders rounded, ready for round two of 'let's be a complete asshole to Tyra', when I notice his face properly. And he doesn't ever convey much in expression, but right now he doesn't look himself at all. And so I slow my walk and even out my frown, but still remaining cautious as I open the door to him. I look up at him properly, and see the closest thing to a distressed vampire I've ever seen. And not because of his face, I can just see it all there in his eyes; pain and anger, but not anger directed at me.

'I need you to do something for me' He tells me urgently, his eyes red rimmed with blood tears more shocking that his tone, which transmits urgency, perhaps even a touch of genuine need.

'What?' I ask him as I step back to let him in.

'This, just this' he replies, taking my hands and then pressing them against his face, so it's cupped in my hands, while I just stand there and wonder what the hell is going on, trying to fight off the way this is making me feel. No blood exchange this time has prompted this...this is all just us. The last time he saw me he called me an idiot and treated me like I was as much, now it's flipped back to this again. My head is a mess.

'Eric, what's...' is all I manage before he cuts me up.

'Mmmm, so much better' he whispers, so quietly I can barely hear him, his own hands coming up to stroke the back of mine, while he just stands there and looks half in pain, half euphoria; my 'energy' the cause of the effect obviously. It's shaking me to my core, to see him like this, like there are actual emotions running through him. But what's really making my core shake right now both physically and metaphorically is that he's leaning slowly towards me, closer, closer, until his nose touches mine, and he then presses his cheek against mine after I move my hand and rest it against his neck, both of his arms winding around my waist as I close my eyes, our shared stare so strong I actually feel like I'm about to faint I feel so dizzy and lightheaded. And I can't even explain how else I feel for one second, other than it feels so fucking right. And then, then I open my mouth to try and speak, yet no words come out. Instead though, I feel a cool set of lips gently touch my top lip right on the cupids bow, and I open my eyes to look back into his again, yet the intensity of the energy between us right now is so strong, I honestly feel like I'm going to have a heart attack.

'You feel like home' he whispers to me, before he vanishes, leaving me standing there gasping for breath as I finally do breathe again, shaking, and wondering what the hell is going on? Why is he acting like this? Why? And then, loathingly because I haven't done it in a long, long time, I burst into tears. I drop to the floor and reach out to slam the screen shut, the frame shaking as I follow it with the heavy solid door that shuts off the glass porch screen. And I just sit there cross legged, leaning forward and resting my head on the cold wood floor as I cry with confusion, hating myself for letting silly emotions rule and get the better of me like this. Jeez, I sound just like Eric. And I guess in a way I have to be a little like him right now, and just use this moment to blank it out, how he made me feel. Cut myself off from it, as a vampire does with his own emotions; except Eric did this hundreds of years ago. I don't imagine he can feel much now, which makes me convinced he's just enjoying messing with me, trying to play with my emotions. But still, he did look so...and that moment with him was just so...Tyra, stop. Go get a wash, brush your teeth, refill your glass of water and go to bed.

And so after instructing myself to do just that I pull myself up off the floor and lock the door, turning the blinds closed on the eight thin, floor length windows that run either side of the door (four each side, it's a nice frontage), plummeting the room into darkness. I reach out around the wall for the kitchen light, flick it on and pour myself a fresh glass of water, then onto the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face, before heading to bed, slipping my clothes off and letting them fall untidily where I cast them off onto the hallway floor, closing my bedroom door behind me and curling up under the covers after setting my water down on the big, flat polished yellow marble coaster on the night stand, sliding off my bracelets and taking one and looking at it for a while, my other hand putting the other three thin gold bangles down, and just holding this little pewter one, a charm bracelet I made when I was little, six to be precise, about nine months after my mom had died. It's always been a comfort to me, but for reasons I never dare speak of to anyone. For it was when I was sitting out in the back yard of my parents house, about six months after they'd brought me home there, that I got my first visit from a friend who stayed in contact with me until I was sixteen, then vanished. The young man who my parents, and many psychiatrists and therapists all told me was my imaginary friend, especially since my mother would hear me in the garden and look out to see me talking to no one, and then turning to say 'hey, where did you go?' into the thin air. Sometimes, I wonder if he was real or not, with how he used to just vanish like that...but I'll never forget the first time I met him...

Having being sat still for a good hour making the new, shiny little bracelet that newly hung off my little wrist, I decided to take a bucket from my parents shed, and head off in search of edibles from the hedgerow that bordered our garden. Even though the evening had fallen, my mom had been out about half an hour previously to bring me a juice and light up the many lanterns she had hanging from the trees, so she could still see me through the darkness down at the bottom of the garden. And I'd only been there a few minutes when I heard someone behind me.

'You do know those berries are poisonous, don't you?' A soft male voice spoke to me. I was six years old, and it was less than a year since my real mom had died. That's the very first time he came to me. I stopped my hand in its pursuit of picking the orange berry from its vine, and turned around to see a young man standing over on the other side of the brook, smiling at me. 'As a rule of thumb, if it's orange it's best to leave it alone. Those dark purple ones are safe though, and I'd recommend them' he then added, smiling at me. He had the most amazing green eyes I'd ever seen, and he was short but quite well built but he looked about seventeen, if that.

'I know that, those are blackberries and mom puts them in pies' I reply, watching him smile a touch wider, and then step out onto the stones that lead from one side to the other, arriving at my side and beginning to pull berries off the bush.

'Allow me to assist Tyra' he told me, while my eyes widened.

'How do you know my name?' I asked him. My parents had told me all about the dangers of talking to strangers, but for some reason I didn't feel unsafe with him; far from it in fact.  
'I know a lot of things about you. I know for one thing that you're a very special little girl, despite the fact that sometimes I know you might not feel like you are' he replied, dropping berries into the bucket I had hanging from my arm.

'Because my real mom and dad aren't here you mean?' I asked him, wondering if that was what he meant, and then thinking 'but how would he know?' He did though.

'Yes, exactly that, and I think you're very, very brave too' he replied as I smiled at him sadly. 'But, that's in your nature, because of who you are. And you really do have no idea how important you are either. I feel privileged to be standing here with you, I honestly do' he then said, while I gave him a puzzled look.

'Why am I so special then?' I asked him, confused at why this stranger was praising me so much.

'I cannot tell you the reason, but it is something you will learn, one day' he replied, while I nodded curiously. And I remember walking further along the side of the brook with him, and he showed me different types of berries and herbs that were edible, named every flower we passed and pointed out fish and little fresh water crabs in beautiful clear water to me, that I could just about make out from the light the lanterns provided. And then, after walking me back to my garden, he vanished. But I saw him again soon after, and sat in a tree with him for hours after sunset, asking him question after question, and each and every one he had an answer for. He was so learned, like he'd been around forever. Yet he looked so young. And always, whenever he visited me, he had the same message.

'You have no idea how special you are; how important you will be' or words to similar effect. And with each month and year that passed, even though his visits would be at most few and far between, I grew very close to him. He became a constant to me, from a time when life was very bewildering. He was wonderful, he was wise, and he was kind, he was...

... 'Godric' I whisper into the night, smiling with deep affection as I remember my strange, yet beautiful 'imaginary' friend. No amount of medication (that I cheated taking anyway by hiding the pills under my tongue, or throwing them back up again after I'd been made to take them under supervision after many other previous incidences of me getting rid of them down the toilet) or hours sat in a therapists chair could really convince me otherwise, until I reached twelve and had had enough of it, so agreed he was all a figment of my overactive imagination and left it at that. Except he wasn't, and I still saw him for a further four years after that. I just didn't tell anybody.


	12. Chapter 12

Eric's POV.

The light from the open fire bathes my whole apartment in a deep orange glow, making it light enough all the way over here by the bed for me to be able to see her as she lays next to me. Except her beautiful eyes could illuminate the whole room anyway I feel, and I feel contentment that long appeared lost to me as I watch her watching me, stroking my hair as she looks down at me.

'Your mind is restless, and I have to confess it troubles me' she tells me, a small frown of concern shadowing her otherwise perfectly beautiful, flawless face.

'There's nothing wrong, nothing on my mind other than you' I tell her, watching her shake her head.

'Eric, you should know by now that line works on other people, but never me love' she replies, her face nearing mine and her lips capturing mine in a kiss.

'I never could lie to you, could I?' I ask her, watching her shake her head 'no', her other hand now stroking the side of my face. And just as I decide it probably is the best option to alleviate my mind and tell her my troubles, the door flies open, and in run three huge black wolves, and before I can even jump up fast enough to protect her, to put myself in harm's way instead of her, they tear her from my arms and rip her to bits, until the only thing that's left of Tyra is her blood and torn off limbs all over the floor, while all I can do is sit and watch...

'Being a vampire means a lot of human pleasantries are lost forever. Why can't dreams be included in those 'pleasantries' too?' I mutter to myself as I wake up, look at the time, and see its only 11am. Four hours after I shut my eyes, and four hours after I began dreaming about Tyra, like I have for the last four days since I saw her. Is it not enough that I spend a lot of my waking hours with the woman on my mind, now I have to suffer thinking about her in sleep too? This constant quest to find out what she is, and why her blood and the energy she transmits affect me as much as I do is becoming a bother to me, since I'm still no closer to discovering what she is; even though my blood flows through her veins now, and hers in mine too. I still cannot decipher what she is. And I find it annoying. Very annoying, especially since at some times, I find myself thinking about her for reasons that don't involve what she is, or my desire to pin her to my bed and fuck her until she can't move for a month. I confess, I've been starting to wonder if there's something else about her that attracts me so heavily, pulls me in further than any other woman in my life has or does. And then I pull myself together and realize that at my age, I'm immune from such emotions and feelings. But still, I cannot justify how her energy makes me feel, or her blood either.

When I visited her after finding out that it was indeed Russell who murdered my family, that energy when I held her hands to my face just made everything melt away completely. The painful memories (we're not made entirely of stone, we still can feel what we remember), the dangerous rage, the longing for vengeance; when she held my face in her hands, it just went away. It made me feel at peace, nourished by her even, healed. I still cannot fully describe it, how her energy acts upon me. Or why her blood made me change to something close to human in the way I regarded her, the guilt I felt for being the cause of her falling down the stairs (even though the triumph of the task being completed in the exact way I expected to still burns bright), or the contentment I felt at looking after her, just having her lying next to me. It doesn't make a shred of sense, and it doesn't add up either. Also, I see it as a weakness, and that is a word that does not enter my vocabulary; ever. Unless I'm applying it to somebody else that is. Otherwise, I do not have weaknesses, yet I can feel I have one slowly building up where Tyra is concerned. That energy I feel, I have a weakness for, and when I drank her blood...no, no, NO! I have no weakness for that, to be tender and kind with her. NO! I'm sick of this, absolutely sick to the back fucking teeth of...

'If you're so sick of it, then admit defeat. It won't make you any less of a vampire to realize what is good for you Eric. Surely that is something I managed to teach you?' I hear, and look over to see Godric's ghostly form sitting on my couch.

'You also taught me it is bad for any vampire to have a weakness, to form a soft spot that can be prodded and picked at. You always vehemently instructed me to rein in my emotions!' I fume as I sit up and stare at him angrily, or rather his form. He just laughs softly, annoying me further.

'Admitting you feel something towards Tyra is no act of weakness my child. You will understand why you do, one day soon. And you will know then that what you feel just cannot be helped, no vampire ever could resist the charms of her kind. You'd be the first in all of history if you did Eric. And I'm telling you right now, you shouldn't resist her. And pretty soon you'll discover that you can't, it will be impossible' he replies, making my fury only burn further.

'And you still cannot tell me why either, can you?' I spit coldly, my temper only being met by good nature.

'Of course I can't! That would make everything just too easy, and to be rewarded with what you will one day claim as yours and no one else's you will see why you had to work so hard to attain it. You are not far from having everything fall into place for you; you must not give up now. The answers, they are all here now, just waiting to be discovered. As I've told you before, have patience Eric, have patience. And, trust me' are all his says before his image becomes fainter and fainter, and he vanishes into thin air again. Trust you? I've trusted you for over a thousand years, and you've never infuriated me to this level before Godric, never. And this is the only thing I can cling to, the fact that all this guessing, and his total cryptic behaviour, must be for something big. Whatever Tyra is, she's been sent for a reason, and that must be big too. But, I'm getting sick of trying to find out, and am starting to wonder what reward could possibly be worth all this effort...

'Let me see that!'

'No, it's nothing!'

'Nothing my cold dead ass, hand the cell phone over Tyra'

'No! Fuck off Pam...Pam...PAM STOP!'

'Ohhhhh! So this is who you're hiding from me then? Oh you dirty cat, could your tongue be any further down his throat?'

That's the sound that's greeted me upon waking up and heading upstairs to the club, Pam and Tyra having one of those womanly bickering moments all female friends seem to insist upon sharing with each other, usually when one wants information the other is reluctant to give as is the case here. And with the last comment made by my progeny it doesn't take a genius to work out what the exact topic of their conversation is...another potential boyfriend I'll have to glamour away by the sound of things. And so I hide behind the slightly open door, gathering more information as I eavesdrop.

'Oh hush! He took that picture anyway, not me. I was just trying to delete it when you came a' spying on me' I hear Tyra reply, looking through the crack in the door and seeing her trying to snatch her cell back away from Pam, who looks like she's having too much fun snooping to let that happen right now, moving the cell faster than Tyra can try and swipe it back.

'So who is this mystery, and may I say very attractive for a man, and a human at that, young gentleman you'd been sucking face with? And why did you not tell me about him sooner?' Pam then asks her, finally giving her the cell back.

'Because I only met him a week ago, and I dunno, something just clicked with him, he's really different to all the other line of losers I've dated recently. And he just seems really perfect for me too, into all the same things as me, doesn't want to be and won't be under my feet twenty four seven since his job keeps him away for most of the week. And yes, he is just a little bit gorgeous isn't he?' Tyra replies, while I watch Pam nodding.

'Oh so he's a keeper is he, this Mr Black hair and green eyes? Give me name!' Pam replies.

'Danny' Tyra replies at first, and then ponders for a few moments. 'And you know me, I never rush into making a decision but yeah, so far I just get a real good feeling about him' she finishes with, while I feel something inside me swell with anger. Danny, make the most of her while you can, because you're on limited time, you really are.

'Either that or it's the fact that for the last year you've been celibate, which is still something I find very hard to believe with someone as criminally sexy as you my friend' Pam replies, something I can only agree with really. But that piece of information only really makes me want her more, suddenly I feel the fact that she's no slut really do it for me, despite my liking of lose women. Tyra's resistance to give in to me only makes me want her more though.

'Pam if you've quite finished distracting my bookkeeper, I'd like her to be working for what she's paid to come here to do, the books, not gossip with you about her love life' I say as I finally decide to enter the room, watching Pam give a 'well, I guess that told me' look from under her long eyelashes, before she saunters out, leaving just me and Tyra alone.

'Could I ask that you actually do some work instead of chattering about unimportant babble with Pamela? Surely that's not too much to ask of a fucking bookkeeper is it?' I ask her, my temper rising by the second as I keep seeing an image of her in my head kissing another man, and then becoming more furious at myself for letting it bother me.

'Duly noted boss' is all she replies, in that 'I couldn't really give a shit what you think' tone she has.

'Don't give me that tone' I warn her firmly, leaning across the desk so far that she has no choice but to look up at me.

'Why? Don't blame me for your own jealousy Eric' she replies simply.

'I AM NOT JEALOUS OF ANYTHING OR ANYONE! I JUST WANT YOU TO DO YOUR GODDAMNED JOB TYRA!' I roar at her, beyond enraged all of a sudden, and still completely furious at myself for letting her push my buttons like this.

'And shouting at me like that goes a long way to prove that theory' she replies with heavy sarcasm. And there it is again, the urge to either kiss her or kill her, polluting my mind so much I don't answer, I just leave quickly as my burning temper shows no signs of subsidence...

Tyra's POV.

Jealous with a capitol J, that's exactly what he is. Well, that isn't my problem. I'm sick to death of him blowing me hot and cold too, one minute interested, the next far from it, playing his stupid little games with me because I won't do the one thing he wants and open my legs to him. Fuck him if he's going to be like that, I really want no part in it all. So after I happened to meet Danny just eight days ago while I was having a relaxing afternoon working away on my laptop at a large chain outlet coffee house last Tuesday, I decided to give up on anything that might or might not be with Eric, and just move the hell on, find someone who wants me because he wants me, and not someone who wants to fuck with my head as much as he can. I'm seeing him again tomorrow night, third date time, and I can hardly wait. But until then I do have the company of a certain male to enjoy, since we never did get round to rescheduling that little dinner date of ours...

'Sit your ass down and tuck in to some serious chow' Lafayette tells me, pulling out my chair for me and tucking it underneath me as I sit down to perhaps the largest burrito I've ever seen, with a pile of rice next to it in a small bowl too.

'Well if I manage to finish all this then I think I deserve some kind of prize' I reply, thanking him as he pours me a glass of wine, mixing his with cherry Coke in the same bizarre way he always does. 'If it's good enough for Jimi Hendrix' he says in way of explanation, referencing the late guitarists liking of red wine and Coke together.

'Cheers, so ice princess, how are things with Danny boy? You got that third date all hooked up yet?' he asks me, as I cut into the mammoth burrito, the smell of freshly seared spicy chicken hitting my nose as the steam rises from the middle.

'Tomorrow, he's taking me up to New Orleans to see a band. And you know I've spoken to him on the phone every day since I met him. I never run out of things to say to the dude, it's amazing. We just mesh and it's a little scary to be fair, how instantly we clicked. But we just did' I reply, watching Lafayette nod as he blows on a forkful of hot brown rice.

'Well that definitely sounds like you found yo' self a keeper, I'll drink to that' He says, swallowing his mouthful of rice and lifting his glass. We toast and then take a few gulps each.

'You're the second person to say that to me. Well, the first wasn't technically a person' I reply, watching Lafayette just stare at me for a minute.

'I assume you mean you told that Pam woman, and not Eric, right? Because I can imagine that'd go town as well as if you brought the dude a silver watch' he snorts in reply while I laugh quietly.

'Of course Pam, I don't talk to him about stuff like that. But he did come in part way through our conversation so heard what we were talking about. And he didn't like it one bit. He was jealous as hell if truth be known' I reply, still feeling a touch proud I managed to inadvertently ruffle his feathers as much as I did. Damn he was pissed.

'Hmmmm, you look way more pleased by that than you do about your third date with Danny boy' he observes, while I stop eating momentarily and just gape at him slightly.

'What do you mean by that exactly? And yes, I'm aware of the dialogue used, but I kinda picked up on some underlying connotations there' I ask him, watching him look uncomfortable for a moment, before erupting.

'Damn it hooker you playin' Eric Northman just as much as his dead white boy ass be playin' you, shit!' he exclaims, dropping his fork somewhat dramatically and grabbing his drink. 'I feared this would happen, you're into him and you's just using that poor fucker to either make Mr dead man jealous or hide from the fact you really do like him, and you don't wanna admit it' he then adds, before adding 'truth!' just before I'm about to speak.

'Okay, so maybe I've thrown myself into this whole Danny thing a bit quickly, but it's so I can just move on from Eric and not get all messed up in him, because it's not what I want!' I justify, to the sound of Lafayette snorting.

'Yeah? All I ever hear you bitch whinging on about is Eric! Eric, Eric, fucking ERIC! You playin' him, and you lovin' every last second of it, because you know you playin' with more than just fire honey child, you playin' with the devil himself. I know I don't gotta tell you how fucking dangerous the son of a bitch is, but either way you gotta do something here, and if you ask me it's either of two things' he tells me, eventually calming down more as his speech goes along. I know he's only worried for me, that's why I'm not losing my shit back at him. I'd be doing the same if it was him and someone who I didn't approve of too.

'And what are those things?' I ask him, taking a gulp of my wine.

'Stop being a vampire dick tease permanently and quit the job, or fuck him and get it the hell out of yo' damn system. I advise the former though' he replies neatly, and I can't help but to suddenly laugh.

'Sweet cheeks I'm being serious over here! You gotta decide what it is YOU want, and stop second guessing everything you think Eric wants' he then barks at me, but with no anger in his voice, just his usual boom.

'You're right, as usual Lafayette you're absolutely right' I concur, figuring it's useless to try and find any other way out of this. But still, something has to be said for the fact that leaving my post at Fangtasia is not the first option that crosses my mind; no matter how much my friend sitting opposite might disagree with that notion. And strangely enough, the person who that notion would be carried out with sends me a text just a few minutes after I've finished eating my huge dinner; that incidentally I didn't manage to finish.

'Can you come back to the club? There's something I forgot to give you, and it's very important that you receive it tonight'.

'Why can't it wait until tomorrow?' I text him back, as Lafayette rejoins me at the table after taking our plates into the kitchen.

'It just can't. Just come back as soon as you can, please'. I receive a few minutes later.

'Danny?' Lafayette asks me hopefully.

'Eric' I sigh.

'Thought so' he replies. 'And what does he have to say?' he then asks.

'He wants me to go back to the club, tells me there's something he forgot to give me and it's important that I get it tonight' I reply, while he nods, and then surprises me with his words.

'Go' he says simply at first. 'Go now and get whatever he has for you. But you've got the half hour it'll take for you to drive to Shreveport to decide on what you tell him when you get there. If you hand in your notice, or if you hand him the booty, and that's a fair enough deal right? You know yo' can't sweat on this one forever Tyra' he follows with, his words very wise. Once again, he's right.

'I will, I'll do just that. And thank you, I'll come back and let you know what I decided' I reply as we get up, and he folds me up in his long arms and gives me a hug.

'Well if I don't answer the door it's because Jesus and I are gettin' busy' he replies, referring to his new boyfriend of sorts.

'Then I'll text and make sure the coast is clear first' I reply with a chuckle as we walk over to the door. And after he's seen me out I walk straight back down to my house, put on a jacket since it's started to rain, and then head out to the car. And as I drive I begin thinking, thinking hard as I take the long way over to Shreveport, buying myself little extra time while I mull over my choices, and nervously crunch my way through a whole box of orange tic tacs to pacify my juddering teeth. Suddenly, the thought of never seeing Eric again leaves me short of breath; just as the idea of having sex with him does, and from here on in I honestly have no idea what to decide upon. And that conflicts strongly with the knowledge of what Lafayette said being right, and the only decision I must make. I have to end my own torment one way or another. But even as I'm walking across the main floor of Fangtasia, after Pam tells me Eric is waiting for me in his office as I enter, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek (she surprises me all the time with such friendly gestures as a cheek kiss upon greeting me) and having it whispered into my ear, I'm still no wiser as to what to decide upon. Just as I am when I walk into the office and catch sight of him

'So? What's this important thing you forgot to give me, this thing that can't possibly wait until tomorrow?' I ask him somewhat wearily. This better be fucking good, or I'm gone. There, decision made. But then, for the first time since I entered the office, I actually look him in the eye, and he holds my gaze from behind the desk, holds it so fast I can feel my resolve weakening, his stare so powerful he just holds me there as he gets up and walks slowly towards me. And the way he's looking at me...he's never looked at me like this before, coming to a stop in front of me and reaching out over my shoulder to push the door shut, while I feel my heart starting to beat at a hundred miles an hour.

'This' is all he replies as he leans down, not hesitating even for just a flicker of a second before he kisses me...and I kiss him back, and everything, everything else just melts away as I fall into the most passionate, unbreakably strong, intense kiss I've ever received, ever participated in. And at the very moment I feel him try to lift me I jump, up into his arms with my legs locked around his waist, his arms around me so tightly he's crushing me to him, and not once does our kiss break...not now...and not for the whole hour that follows it either. And I know that when a vampire is turned on their fangs come out, and right now as my tongue entwines with his I feel no presence of said pointy sharp teeth at all...so what does that say?

'Go'. Well, that's what he says at least, almost dropping me. Thank god I have the landing skills of a cat or I'd be on my ass about now.

'What?' I ask him incredulously.

'GO!' he demands, his face contorting as he screws his eyes shut, before literally vanishing, and leaving me to wonder one thing; have I lost my mind? Why am I doing this to myself? Why am I giving in to this mans demands time and time again just to be rejected time and time again? I don't know, but I do know one thing, on the drive home I tune into total rock radio, and the song 'Where is my mind?' by The Pixies comes on, and it feels like they're asking the question just to me, it feels karmic in a strange way that I hear this song now, perhaps the cosmos is letting me know I'm right, where is my mind? Honestly, where is it? Because I must be going insane to keep torturing myself like this. But then again, I'm not the only one doing the torturing, the game playing. Oh no. For when I arrive home, he's standing on my porch waiting for me. I cannot believe it, I just...grrrr! Getting out of my car I look right through him as I head up to my house, unlocking my front door and having myself for feeling like every tiny hair on my body is standing on end as I feel him right behind me, and then once inside my house turn to look at him, and feel tingles I don't want to feel run through me.

'You kiss me, and you tell me to go, and now you're here! I mean what the fuck? What do you want from me?' I ask him in a shrill shout, totally exasperated, my cool lost long ago.

'I don't know, but I know one thing. I can't just kiss you, and I can never be satisfied with just kissing you ever again' he tells me, advancing on me and then taking my head in his hands, his mouth connecting with mine again in a kiss so deep it doesn't break, as I feel every single barrier I've put up against him break in half, and I let him in totally. We make it roughly another two steps back into the house before the floor is where we fall, our kiss only breaking to pull each other out of our clothes, until all that covers our skin is each other.

**Authors note - Girls, THANK YOU SO MUCH for your continued reading and reviewing of this story :) you have no idea how thrilled I am that you all appear to be enjoying reading this as much as I am enjoying writing it! I get so excited whenever my Blackberry beeps to let me know I have a new review in my inbox lol :D keep them coming! xx**


	13. Chapter 13

**WARNING! The following chapter details sex scenes in a graphic manner. If such material is likely to offend please DO NOT read on. And if you love smut, well here ya go... :D **

Tyra's POV.

It might sound like the biggest cliché in the world, but I don't think I've felt anything as amazing as the feeling of him, all over me. His cold skin adds a feeling of contrast against my warmth, goosebumps prickling my skin all over, every last square inch, feeling extra sensitive wherever his hands or mouth roam to. His hands are just all over me, caressing my every curve, dip and rise of my body, while his mouth kisses my neck, lingering there for only a few moments before he moves, and then I feel one of my nipples being sucked into his mouth, his fangs prickling my breast as his hands travel underneath my body and grip my ass hard, one sliding back up to my shoulders while the other runs up and down my thigh a few times, his mouth moving to the other breast and biting my nipple hard, very fucking hard, at the same time as I feel a thick finger push into my wetness. And the noise he makes when he feels how wet I am, it's not human, it's a growl, and my god is it sexy as hell.

I feel a second finger enter me as his mouth lets go of my nipple, and for a few moments he just stares down at me, before making me groan loudly and shut my eyes tightly as I feel his fingers begin to rub my g spot firmly, his lips kissing my throat as my head rolls back, my hands running down his back, fingers caressing muscles I didn't even know existed, one hand reaching between our bodies and joining his between my legs, my hand rubbing until its wet and then wrapping around his cock, which when I run my hand up from the base doesn't seem to want to end. Holy shit that's big. And just stroking it that one time makes a flood of wetness pour from me as my inner muscles tighten around his fingers, his mouth back on mine as he kisses me with urgent want, his tongue swirling with mine, a deep groan with that same underlying hint of a growl escaping his mouth, as I feel his fingers retreat from me and his hands lock around my wrists, placing my arms either side of my head as his hands run down my sides, his legs push mine apart wider, and with one easy, fluid movement he's inside me.

'You feel, ahhhhhh' he groans deeply, big hard cock retreating only so far before my muscles tighten around him, not willing to let him out, and he pushes back inside my pussy much deeper than before, making me cry out in the painful ecstasy of being totally filled with cock, his mouth pressing to mine again muting that noise, the air filling with the sound of the deep, carnivorous growl emanating from deep in his chest as he begins to move faster, and harder into me. He might have trailed off into the realms of pleasure before he could tell me how I feel, but I'm in no doubt the feeling of a very hard, very cold cock becoming warmer inside me with every thrust, and the huge vampire its attached to, is perhaps the greatest thing I've ever felt. For one thing, I never, ever expected him to be so passionate. But he just doesn't stop kissing me; his hands do not stop stroking me, and for the most part holds a firm eye contact with me. And another thing that amazes me is that he's breathing, his chest heaving up and down, cold breaths blasting against my breast as once again he gives my hardened nipples the attention of his tongue, and teeth. This truly is amazing sex, and now I understand totally what the fascination is; why for centuries mere mortals like myself were prepared to die for this, a moment of ecstasy with the most dangerous predator on earth. Except its no moment, what we share here on the floor. Because unlike mere mortals vampires have stamina...and then some.

'Mmmmmmmmm' I moan in total rapture, feeling his hands pushing my legs forward more, making his cock sink deeper into me as he takes his weight onto his forearms, leaving his hands free to squeeze my breasts as he kisses me, and begins to pound into me like a goddamned jackhammer, not slowing, and not stopping, until I'm tighter and wetter with every thrust, panting, groaning, sweating, crying out and feeling an orgasm come heading at me fast, burning through my groin and making me feel like my swollen clit, stimulated by his body grinding into mine, is exploding. Yet, even though he slows down a little, he doesn't stop, and quickly enough begins fucking me hard and fast again, my body banging against the hardwood floor and bones bruising under the weight of him, but nothing compared to how good he feels inside me.

'You look so beautiful when you come' he whispers in my ear, before I feel it licked along the line of the lobe, his mouth back at my neck again, his fangs scratching the skin as his tongue runs across the source from which he feeds, yet he resists any urge to bite me, instead sliding from inside my dripping wetness, turning me over and then re entering me, thrusting slowly, deeply, firmly as he kisses my spine up and down, fingers pinching at my nipples, twisting them around hard as I groan deeply, loving the pain, making him twist harder, which only makes the noises that escape my throat louder, and then louder and louder still as he begins to thrust into me hard and fast again, so hard and fast it's beyond any speed a human could maintain, or even reach. Why the hell, when I like being fucked as hard and fast and for as long as I do, did sex with a vampire always turn me off so much? Oh I don't know, and I'm way, way past caring about anything other than how fucking amazing this feels; pun intended. I reach between my legs and rub my fingers over my wetness, sliding two fingers either side of his cock and feeling it pound in and out of me, and then slipping two fingers into my pussy to join him, hearing him groan loudly and the sound of his hand smacking straight off one of my ass cheeks, a hell of a lot harder than I've ever been spanked before. Damn it felt good. And then I feel his hand take hold of a handful of my hair and yank my head back, leaning forward to run his tongue across my neck.

'Bite me' I ask, or rather tell him seductively, another groan forcing out of my throat soon afterwards, as incredibly he begins to fuck me harder.

'As you wish' he replies, before I feel it for the first time, the red hot pain of two fangs piercing my neck, his mouth sucking the blood from my body, as a feeling of total euphoria rushes through me. It is sexy all in itself, but while the vampire feeding from you is mercilessly fucking you at the same time; it's heaven. Total erotic heaven, and as I slide my fingers from inside myself and start to rub on my clit, the catalyst for orgasm number two. And still, he doesn't stop. I swear he's like a machine. Just keeps going, and going, and going. It's fast, hard, brutal sex, but with him still kissing and stroking me, staring at me (except for now, because of position), tenderness that meets the beast head on, and makes for a powerful combination. So this is what having sex with a Viking feels like, I hadn't thought of that part until just now, which of course, makes it all the more sexy.

And then, the sight of him does too as I move and turn around pushing him down until he's lying flat on his back, kissing him as I run my hands up and down his chest, the feeling of those gorgeous muscles, trailing them lower, sucking his tongue as I guide his hardness back inside me, my mouth moving to his neck, and then his chest as I rock back and forth on him slowly, but with force in each movement of my hips, licking his nipples as I listen to that beautiful growling noise he makes. And it's when I finally sit up some time long after I first sat astride him, and open my eyes that I catch a glimpse at the clock on the wall. I arrived home at 8pm. It's 9.35pm right now. Wow, it doesn't seem like an hour and a half has passed, but then again time isn't exactly on my mind right now other than noticing the fact I've finally found someone with enough stamina to keep having sex for the same length of time I do.

But still, it isn't until a little after ten that I finally detect he's about to come, his chest heaving up and down in exertion as he moves underneath me quicker, hands locking onto either side of my waist and pulling me down to him, his teeth biting onto my nipple as the air fills with the sound of a deep growl, and his cock batters into me so hard and deep I have to lock every single muscle in my legs to prevent myself from not crashing down completely, coming for the third time just before he does, with an actual scream that makes my throat feel sore, my nails digging into his chest and tearing down, the primal ecstasy then beginning to ebb away slowly as we become still.

'So, that's what sex with the most arrogant bastard I've ever met is like then. Well, I suppose you do have good reason to be' I tell him, looking down at him as I catch my breath, watching him give me a half smile as he raises one eyebrow.

'I'm not done yet' he informs me, and before I know it I've been picked up and transported to my bedroom at speed, and then I'm finally lying on something with a hell of a lot more padding than a hard wood floor, the centre of my bed being that place, with him on top of me currently kissing my collar bones, hands stroking my hips and the tops of my thighs, pushing them apart as his mouth works its way lower, tongue flickering across my stomach, my hip bones, the bare mound where pubic hair would grow if I let it, and finally right over the tip of my clit, his fingers pushing my inner lips apart to make it stand out to his touch more, and pressing his tongue against it again, moving it back and forth hard and fast. Immediately my head falls back against the pillow and my eyes actually do cross it feels so good, his tongue slipping inside me a few times, before I feel him suck on my clit and not let go, gently circling the tip with his tongue, making me moan over and over as I'm further shown just what over a thousand years of experience feels like. It feels too, too good. He knows exactly how, and exactly where to touch a woman.

There's something about the intimacy levels of a man giving you oral sex that's always meant I've never let a man do it straight away, I dunno, it always just felt too intimate. But I can tell you this right now; there's no way I'm asking him to stop, it's just too damn good, each lick of his tongue more intense than the last, each movement only designed to push me further and further into bliss. I did wonder just how much of an attentive lover he'd be, whether his own ego would demand he just sought his own pleasure and wouldn't care much about that of the woman he's with, but that just couldn't be further from the truth if the last two hours are anything to go by.

'Mmmmmmm, ohhhhhh yes' I breathe, moaning deeply, running my fingers through his hair and then down his huge arms, drowning in the intense waves of pleasure his tongue creates as it rubs against my clit, making it harder with each touch, more sensitive, more pleasurable if you can believe it. I'm not sure I can, or the length of time it takes before I see his face again...two damn hours, TWO HOURS! And all the way through those two hours, when I felt the hot flush of an orgasm beginning to peak, he annoyingly moved his mouth away and kissed my thighs or my stomach, letting me cool down before starting again, and then stopping...and turning me to a shaking wreck in the middle of the bed before finally, his tongue works me there, my nails digging into his shoulders as I moan my way to orgasm loudly, and then feel the thick invasion of his cock again, opening my eyes and seeing him above me, tasting myself on his lips when he kisses me, and becoming totally lost in the sex we share for hours, and hours...  
We finally stop at somewhere around the 4.30am mark, and I lie in his arms in complete exhausted disarray, just stroking his chest and then looking up at him to see him looking down at me curiously.

'Why are you staring at me?' I ask him, unnerved a little. I always feel uneasy when he smiles, which is what he's doing now. 'Do I have something on my face?' I then ask after he gives me no answer.

'Yes, you have a vampire just here' he says as he leans in and just touches the corner of my lips with his finger, and then a kiss, making me laugh quietly and feel a little less uneasy. I think he always will make me feel like that though. He's so unpredictable, especially now. I'm not used to this Eric, this Eric who has just slid his arm under my shoulders and pulled me over to lie on top of him, one hand stroking my back as the other runs through my hair, this Eric who keeps kissing me on top of my head every so often, but other than that is just content to share the silence between us. Silence until 4.45am to be precise, when he slides out of bed and from underneath me, and heads out of my bedroom, returning moments later with his arms full of clothes, and then picking out his from mine and pulling them on.

'Come on, get dressed. I don't have much time before the dawn begins to break' he tells me, while I give him a puzzled look.

'All I need to do to come and say goodbye to you is wrap myself in this' I tell him, gesturing to the bed sheet that half covers my nakedness.

'Ahhh, but see there's the thing. I have no intention of saying goodbye to you just yet, and every intention of taking you home with me and straight back to bed. Because...I don't quite think...the last eight hours...have been enough time...for me to work out four months of frustration at you...for repeatedly turning me down' he tells me, the last sentence punctuated by the fact he stops to kiss me from my navel, right up to my mouth, reigniting my want for him all over again. Not that I think it burned out at all.

'Well when you put it like that' I reply, granting him another kiss before I hop out of bed and pull myself into a clean pair of clothes, grabbing a clean thong and then having the sense to go and grab a toothbrush and a few basic makeup items from the bathroom, running back out into the lounge and throwing my collected items into my purse, and my feet into a pair of shoes before I'm ready. We walk out of the house onto the porch, and I lock up, all the time being hampered by a big horny vampire, who just won't put me down. Right now, I have his mouth at my neck, and his hands roaming all over my torso as they invade the confines of my top.

'You can wait' I tell him, giggling a little as his cold hands unintentionally tickle my warm flesh, turning and being kissed passionately before he answers me. Oh my lord, he just made me giggle. That's a word that seldom enters my vocabulary; I'm not a giggler at all.

'Barely' he replies, before picking me up and like a shot, flying off through the sky with me holding into him tightly, and coming to a stop outside Fangtasia in a lot less time than I thought. We head in through the back and go straight down to his apartment, with him still carrying me too and depositing me neatly on the bed, our minds getting back to what we've been doing all night pretty quickly, our clothes being cast off at speed, our nakedness once again blanketing each other as we roll around the huge bed together in the throes of total passion once more. I must confess, right now I am wondering what makes me so special that I'm down here again with him, since every other woman he indulges in fucking the living daylights out of only makes it to the basement. Yes, it does make me wonder...

Eric's POV.

I like it when I'm right. And right now my first, initial dirty thought of what her beautiful full lips would be good at when I first met her four months ago has indeed been proven correct, since right now I'm on the receiving end of a very, very good blow job. She's certainly worked her way into a well deserved spot on the list of the most talented lovers I've had in this century at least, but she does have a very unfair advantage over pretty much all of them, and those from the century before, and the one before that...because the energy I felt whenever I touched her tripled as soon as I kissed her, making chords of memory swell that had long been untouched, enjoying it so much I pushed her away, not wanting to feel too much. But I then discovered I wanted to feel nothing but. And if kissing her trebled it, feeling my naked skin against hers sent it off the scale, her energy pouring into me, almost like every paw in my skin sucked it up out of her, making for a feeling of intensity my mind could never remember feeling before.

A feeling that just grew, and grew, her energy completely overcoming me, everything about the sex we shared a thousand times more incredible than I remembered it to be with anyone else in the end, because of that beautiful, euphoric energy she transmits. Not that the end has happened yet, because she'll be very lucky if I let her out of this bed anytime soon. I don't think I've met many women who can indulge in more or less eight hours of constant sex without complaining of being tired, apart from Tyra, who seems to have the kind of energy that matches mine. And, no gag reflex either apparently...yes, she certainly is talented with that pretty mouth of hers.  
And also like before when I drank of her, I'm noticing her blood effects me in the exact same way, except it honestly does feel stronger this time, I feel (if I dare utter it) a lot more connected to her, more interested in her, considerate of her, and once again that feeling of not wanting to be parted from her for even a second charging through my veins as my body absorbed her blood, her energy...her.

Whatever she is, having sex with her kind is definitely an experience I cannot see myself tiring of any time soon. She definitely has what it takes to keep my interest held, even though right now I'm not fully concentrating on the hot, wet mouth sliding up and down my cock, I'm letting my thoughts become swayed as I try for the thousandth time to possibly invoke any information in my mind as to what the hell she is. And as far as I know, the only supernatural creature who can transmit such energies to vampires, especially and even more so through sexual contact, were all wiped out over a thousand years ago, so she cannot be one of those. I don't think I'd ever let her go again if she was one of them; that would really be something. But after realizing that now really isn't the time to be concentrating on what she is, I revert my mind back to what's happening on this bed, and decide to think later and enjoy now. And right now, all I want is to push my mouth back between her legs, so slide along underneath her I move until I'm even with her face to kiss her a few times, and then keep moving down until she's kneeling above me and I'm in close enough proximity to run my tongue between her labia and up to her clit again, while my hands knead at her perfectly round ass, slapping it hard a few times since I remember she really, really seems to like that. As do I, the feeling of velvet soft flesh against my mouth a highly pleasurable one; but not as highly pleasurable as fucking her.

'What a view' I compliment her some time later, watching her body move almost fluidly while she's on top of me. I know I'm biased, but Swedish women really are the most beautiful in the world. Tall, long limbed, very light blonde hair, and beautiful curves as well, all accentuated even more in Tyra's physique since from her muscles it's obvious she takes care of herself. She's exquisite looking woman...and definitely worth waiting four months for.

Tyra's POV.

'You doing that weird thing again' I tell Eric later that morning, 11am later to be precise.

'What weird thing?' he asks me, his fingertip coming to a stop momentarily, where it circles at the side of my breast.

'That smiling thing you're doing' I reply, giving him a playful look and then feeling surprised when I see him laugh softly.

'However am I supposed to look at you then, like this?' he asks, frowning heavily at me suddenly and resting his forehead against mine with a bump, stopping when I smile and push him away gently, putting my arm back around him and kissing his chest. I haven't met many men that make me feel so tiny, but lying here next to someone the size of Eric would make most feel small I think. And I like it.

'I'm certainly more used to that face' I tell him, watching him shake his head a little.

'I don't want you to be' he replies, before kissing me into silence. He's definitely a man of few words, but for the last thirteen hours we've been in each other's company they've been all the right ones, for a change. But for now we're both all out of words, both needing to sleep, which is exactly what we do for the rest of the day and a little of the evening. So that's two firsts in the space of twenty four hours, sex with a vampire, and an entire day off work, because of having sex with the aforementioned vampire.

**Authors note - Big thanks to the continued interest, you girls are the best! Having a captive audience is every writers dream :) xx**


	14. Chapter 14

Eric's POV.

'I still maintain, whatever it is about your blood, it does wonderful things to me' I tell Tyra, sealing the wound in her neck I just fed from, and picking her up in my arms to carry her through to the bathroom.

'It takes the hard edge of a vampire who, underneath, isn't as fearsome as he seems. I think I'm starting to understand it, why you are the way you are' she replies as I gently put her down into the hot water, and then climb in behind her.

'Do indulge me of your theory then' I reply, lying back and wrapping my arms around her as she rests her head on my shoulder.

'Well for a start, you're dead. It's hard to have emotions when you're no longer alive. And secondly, I can imagine that to survive for as long as you have, you have to harden yourself to some extent in order to do just that, survive. I understand that, and I accept you are what you are' she replies simply. She's so intuitive, so not like a human in the way she thinks. We've been awake for about two hours now, just lying in bed talking to each other, getting to know each other better if you will. Which is something I've never indulged in before, but, with her it's different, I want to know her more. Because so far I only like what I have to hear; she sees this world and the people who live in it very differently to most people. She isn't driven or controlled by her emotions like humans are, she's more vampiric in her nature, going on fact and reasoning before anything else in her thought patterns. I like it very much, just as I like very much how her blood makes me feel, her energy too. I can feel myself becoming truly wrapped up in it, wanting to be too. It's like there's an invisible chord that's starting to connect us, just pulling us closer and closer.

'That's exactly right; a vampire does have to push all of that aside just to survive. If we stayed too human, or had too much of a conscious we'd have simply ceased to be a hell of a long time ago. I like that you understand that, that you truly accept we are what we are' I reply, stroking her wet hair and kissing her temple. It's a refreshing change to hear someone accept I am what I am instead of asking a million questions why I am not what they want me to be.

'I don't understand people who try and justify other's actions or lives based on their own morals and values. It's the height of ignorance of you ask me. I think it's very ignorant when people don't understand that' she muses.

'As do I' I reply, kissing her once again, which seems to be something I can no longer control, the level of intimacy I'm entering with this lovely woman in my arms. It's definitely something in her blood drawing me in, for I haven't acted like this with a woman in...centuries. Not since...her.

'Is something wrong?' she asks me, turning a little and stroking my cheek with her hand, her face studying mine.

'No, no nothing. I just...I was just remembering the last time I was like this with a woman' I reply, shocked at how my mouth opens and words I don't even plan on speaking come tumbling out.

'You're not going to go all cold on me and tell me to fuck off in a few moments, are you?' she then questions.

'No, of course not' I reply, affirming my words by holding her tighter to me.

'Good, because you can be very capricious you know. So who was the last woman you were like this with, if you don't mind me asking?' she then asks carefully. And then, as if by some kind of magic I just look into her eyes and my mouth opens again, with words falling from it once more, words I've never spoken to anyone other than Godric; a story not even Pam knows.

'My wife' I reply, watching her look shocked for a moment.

'You were married? When you were a human I take it?' she asks with genuine interest.

'Yes, when I was human. I married when I was twenty, the year after my family were killed. Her name was Ida, and in our nine years together she bore me three sons and two daughters. She was a tremendous woman, a perfect wife and mother' I reply, remembering her fondly.

'You had children too?' she asks me, once again looking shocked.

'Remember, I was once human. And I once found joy in the simple, natural things in life such as having a family of my own, children running around my feet, and a beautiful wife to take care of. Just because that is not the life I would wish for as a vampire, it does not mean I didn't welcome it as a human at all' I reply, watching her nodding, listening intently to my every word.

'Of course, sorry that was stupid of me to forget' she replies, while I instantly quash that notion.

'No, not at all, don't ever call yourself stupid in front of me again either, because you aren't, and I'm fully aware of how complex I am so it doesn't surprise me that hearing things like this surprises you' I reply, my words firm when I tell her she should never consider herself stupid.

'I'll bear that in mind. So, how did you meet Ida?' she then asks me, while I reach for a large bar of soap and a sponge, working it into a lather and gently pushing her forward, moving her hair over her shoulder and washing her back while I reply.

'She was the daughter of a wealthy farmer the next small town over, and I met her after I'd purchased a heard of sheep from her father, and then what followed was a very, very quick courtship followed by an even quicker marriage four months later, when we discovered she was expecting our first child' I tell her, remembering back to the very moment she told me she of the pregnancy with our first son Arvid, named of course after his grandfather.

'What did she look like?' she then asks me, while I move the sponge down to her arms, kissing the side of her neck and feeling her return the affectionate gesture by linking her fingers through mine in my other hand.

'She was tall, like you. And she had this incredible long light red hair, so long she could sit on it, she was a stunning woman, very much so' I reply, closing my eyes and being able to see Ida there clearly in my mind, a place she will never, ever leave.

'So you mentioned you were with her for nine years. And I'm a little afraid to ask...was that because you were turned after nine years and you couldn't go back to her?' she then tentatively asks me, moving her hair as I begin washing her other arm.

'No, she died a few months before I was turned, as did two of our children too. It was a fever that got them, which back in those days was so very common, one of the most common causes of death. I'd been away fighting for three months, when I returned to find Arvid, just eight years of age and such a man before his time, had buried her, his younger brother Melker, and his infant sister Lydia, leaving just him, Jonas, and Elisabet, and the three of them were very sick. I spent the next four weeks trying as hard as I could, with the help of the servants, to save them. The baby, Elisabet was next to die, she was just too small at five months old, she needed her mothers' milk, but all we could nurse her with was goats milk and it just wasn't enough. Jonas was next, and then Arvid. I lost them all over something in this day and age just wouldn't be an issue. Two months after Arvid's passing I was made after becoming mortally wounded on the battlefield, by my maker Godric, who told me he'd watched me, and said to me what an amazing warrior he thought I was, what strength I had. It's remarkable, the amount of fight humans have left in them when everything else has been lost. But then again, that's a Viking for you' I reply, realizing that I didn't even notice I'd dropped the sponge into the water, or that Tyra had turned around in the bath to face me as some point during my explanation.

'He was right, when he said you had strength. Now I understand even more why vampires harden themselves to such emotions. I think if I had to carry such a memory for a thousand years, especially after what happened to your parents and siblings, I'd be hard too. I don't want to sit here and gush out sympathy, you're too much of a proud man for that Eric, but I am sorry that they didn't go on to lead longer lives, which is what I feel you would have wanted for them whether you were made or not right?' she replies softly, leaning forward to kiss my cheek.

'Yes, that's exactly what I would have wanted for them, regardless of my fate' I reply, picking the sponge up out of the water.

'And now I'm going to have the good grace to change the subject, because this face says one thing loud and clear. 'I don't wish to discuss this anymore' she replies, stroking my cheeks with her fingertips before we fall into the kind of kiss that would break all lines of verbal discourse anyway, lying back in the water with her on top of me, the sponge again being let go of as I wrap both of my arms around her.

'You're a very challenging woman Tyra' I tell her as soon as our kiss breaks.

'Well I could have told you that' she begins with a small laugh. 'But how so?' she then asks.

'Because, I think you're going to challenge me' is all I reply, too busy feeling almost drunk on the energy that's still continuing to pour from her and into me, challenging, changing me. I suppose whatever she is, this is what she does. I just have to make up my mind whether or not this, or she, is a truly welcome challenge and change or not...

Tyra's POV.

'You know, you do have to let me go at some point Eric' I say, still feeling quite overwhelmed by the last twenty four hours, and how affectionate he's become towards me, almost treble how he was before. I'm not naive though, I know it's something to do with feeding upon me that makes him like this; it isn't all just me. But still, it feels lovely, witnessing him like this, showing me a totally different side to the usual cold, mean tempered, stoic Eric Northman.

'I'm fully aware of this, but I just don't want to right now' he replies, standing in the office with me in his arms, stroking my hair. We've been together for the last day and a half almost, him first arriving at my home yesterday evening at 8pm sharp after our kiss in the office. And it's now 1am, twenty nine hours later, and we're only parting because he's leaving the state to head to Mississippi on 'business' as he told me, not adding any more detail than that. Which is fine, he doesn't have to tell me every in and out, every intricacy of his life just because I had sex with him. I'm not that demanding or needy. All he told me was that he'd be back by the time I'd be here next on Wednesday, so I only have six days to wait to see him again.

'Well, this tired lady needs to go and find her bed after what you've put me through' I reply, watching him smirk triumphantly at the memory of our marathon sex sessions.

'Speaking of which, are all your aches, pains and abrasions feeling less tender now?' he asks me, since half an hour ago I had to have some of his blood since I was in such great pain internally. To be precise, I felt like my vagina had been sandblasted, something that amused Eric greatly to hear.

'They are, thank you' I reply, smiling at him and being granted a very long, soft kiss upon my lips. And with that, we say our goodbyes and I leave him in the office studying the computer screen, and begin my walk up the stairs and out into the club itself, noticing straight away that everyone behind the bar is staring at me in an enquiring way, probably all now knowing the reason why they haven't seen their boss, or me, in the last day and a half. But, there's only one Fangtasia employee who quizzes me on it, and that's the lady who owns half of it.

'Well, well, well, he's finally untied you then?' Pam asks, looking me over with one eyebrow arched up.

'He likes me to use my hands, so he didn't do that' I reply, kissing her cheek when she offers it forward and gives my shoulders a squeeze.

'Finally, you both get it out of your systems! I am pleased, now perhaps you won't be perpetually horny and he won't be tearing around here like a bear with a sore head, or rather a vampire with a sore balls because you keep refusing him' she replies, looking thoroughly amused. 'And with that, let me keep you no longer sugar, you look like you need some shut eye. We can catch up another time' she tells me, giving me another amused look while I give her a playful shoulder barge to get past, turning around and winking at her.

'Later Pam' I tell her.

'Later foxy lady' she replies, winking back and smiling before letting the next few patrons in the queue inside the club after unhooking the velvet rope that blocks the entrance. And right now, I really do feel it. To be desired and wanted so much by a creature as powerful and beautiful as Eric, and then to be shown physically the measure of his want, for many, many consecutive hours, has made me feel every inch the foxy lady. Even though I have no idea if that was just a onetime moment of lust, or whether I perhaps might decide to take him as a lover (I know the word 'relationship' would never even enter his thoughts, so I'm not hoping for one) or what, but I do know that the feeling of breaking my rule about sleeping with a client did feel pretty good, to quell the four months worth of pent up lust for him, just to open the floodgate and let it all out, I feel remarkably relaxed for getting out all than tension. And as I drive home, I replay little pieces of what's gone on between us over the past day through my head, how amazing the sex was more than anything, but also the way in which he opened up to me about his life as a human. I certainly never expected to hear that way back in the 980's he'd been a family man, his children Arvid, Jonas, Melker, Lydia and little Elisabet the complete centre of his world, as well as his wife Ida. It was truly tragic to hear he lost them to something that can be treated with something so simple such as paracetamol and bed rest now. I felt a great injustice for him, at hearing that. But then that just shows how different life was back then, which was something I was even more keen to learn of, having a direct source of history right there in the bathtub with me, yet I left it because I didn't want to invade upon his private and personal memories any more than I already had. Those are for him, not for me. And I think he appreciated that too. Also I think he appreciated being asked about everything he'd seen over the last thousand years too, the life he'd lead of a vampire, which he was only too happy to inform me of after we'd retreated from the bath and ended up wrapped around each other in bed again.

'You're so refreshing, usually all people want to know are the mundane things, the frequently asked questions if you will. Why can't you see sunlight? Why can't you still eat food? Can you still have sex? Do you actually feel pain even though you can heal yourself? Can I see your fangs? Will you bite me? Will you make me a vampire? Not one of those awful questions has passed your lips, and for that I thank you. Now, what century in particular would you like to know about?' he said to me, while I excitedly told him I wanted to learn more about every era of time he'd watched, participated in, I wanted to know the zeitgeist of each culture, of each decade he'd ever lived in, I just wanted to know it all, more about this earth, through the eyes of a vampire who'd walked it for a millennia. And so, he told me. Not everything of course, I think we got up to about the fifteenth century before he expressly wished not to have his mouth 'occupied by words any longer' as he put it. Yeah, five seconds after that it was between my legs again, and I was not complaining about that at all.

When I arrive home I let myself in, shaking off the rain that's currently plummeting from the sky, and receive a welcoming shove in the legs from Poon, circling my ankles in her usual kitty like manner. I'm surprised she's actually here and not off deep in the forest somewhere. Another thing I'm surprised about is that I got so caught up in Eric that I left my cell right here on the counter in the kitchen, where I'd put it last night before rushing over to Lafayette's. And as well as a text from the man himself asking what I decided, and that I can leave him in suspense no longer, I have a text from Danny, the man who I was meant to be going on a date with tonight. Oh...crap. I'd totally forgotten he even existed truth be known, and if I had of had my cell with me I really can't say I would have been that bothered about answering. I know that sounds mean, brushing him off because I got a better offer, but hey, at least I'm honest. Although I'll keep back some of that honesty when I let him down gently. I dunno, since last night he hardly seems relevant any more, no matter how much I professed to like him to people like Pam and Lafayette, Anna and Dmitri too. I think Lafayette was right when he said all I was going was using him as a way to stop thinking about Eric, and he was such a nice guy so he doesn't deserve me to be nasty when I do as I stated I will, and let him down gently.

'Hey, I'm really sorry I wasn't here when you came to pick me up earlier, and that I didn't get in touch to cancel our date. Something important came up and because of it I'm going to be busy for a while with it, so I'll let you know when I can fit in that third date, and sorry once again, T x' I text to him, hitting send and receiving a reply within seconds, which is a little eager if you ask me.

'Yeah no worries baby, I'll wait, you're more than worth it xxx' he replies, adding two things to that text message that tip the bile to the back of my throat, kisses and the use of the word 'baby'. I'm a grown woman for heaven's sake; baby is something I've always hated being referred to as by anyone, except maybe my parents because I'll always be their baby after all. And so after being conveniently nauseated enough by Danny not to feel guilty about having no intention of making a third date with him, I go about my evening (or early morning) and decide that I'll do a small tidy up and throw in a load of washing before heading off to bed. Okay, make that two loads of washing, since I just walked into my bedroom and saw and smelt the bed sheets, covered in sweat and sexual secretions and definitely not worthy of sleeping on. And so after changing them for a fresh set, and putting the dirty ones in the basket ready to do in the morning. I'm too sleepy to wait up and put them in after the current load is done. Locking up and switching out all the lights I head off into bed, and as soon as I'm all curled up in it I realize something; even though the linen has been changed I can still smell Eric; which is something nice to have wafting into my nostrils as my tired body falls into a much needed sleep mode just a few moments afterwards.

**Authors note - You girls, you ALL make it worth it each time I see one of your lovely reviews pop up in my inbox! I've worked so hard trying to make this story not a million miles away from the True Blood we all know and love, but with some of my own ideas included into the mix too for freshness and originality. I'm so happy to see they're going down well with you all, keep on enjoying and I'll keep on posting you lovely lot! :D xx**


	15. Chapter 15

Tyra's POV.

'So, how's everything going in Jackson then?'

The above is the text message I sent to Eric, two days after he left and two days after I saw him last. That was four days ago, and so far I've had no reply. Which is about as much as I should have expected really...and would have expected if I hadn't have received this message when he arrived there.

'I'm looking forward to seeing you again, all of you in case you were wondering about specifics. And yes, I'm doing 'that weird thing' I do as I type this' is what he sent to me, the 'weird thing' he was referring to being him smiling. A cordial enough text I thought, one that I replied to telling him I was looking forward to much the same. The way he acts, so differently when he's fed from me to when he hasn't, is definitely like watching the mood swings of a drug user, how differently they act when they've imbibed their substance of choice to how they act when they haven't used it. Eric is that to a T right now. My blood must only affect him for a certain time it would seem, because his complete all out ignorance at my last message really does seal it for me, since it's now been four days since I've seen him, two since I sent the message he didn't bother replying to. Unless of course he's just busy, he did say he was out there on business after all. Or maybe there's something up with his phone, or the cell signal has dipped or something...oh Jesus fucking Christ will you listen to me? I'm doing that pathetic female thing of second guessing everything the man she's interested in/sleeping with is doing; or not doing in this case. Tyra, you need to stop before you sound any needier than you already do. It's never been in my nature to wonder why I haven't received a call or text back from a man, as I've always remained rational over the reason so it's never bothered me before. So why should I let it bother me now?

Ahhhhh, yes, there it is. I saw the other side to him, and I liked it so much that I never, ever wanted to witness 'mean Eric' ever again. And he told me himself he didn't want me to either, didn't want me to be used to his frowning face more accurately. And, the level of intimacy we slipped into, it was just unreal. Him actually telling me so much more about his life than I ever expected, and how...oh god shut up Tyra! Just shut up! It's only your blood that makes him like that! It's all an illusion, snap out of it girl, for fucks sake!  
Right, I think I'm done berating myself now, time to find something to do to other than think about Eric. I have much better ways to spend my time, like abandoning the file I'm currently working on and heading out and into my bedroom to change into some running clothes and then heading out to do just that; run, and run, and run. Run until the fresh air in my face and the speed my feet hit the ground and bounce back up again make me feel free, strong, and clear headed all over again. Clear headed of course until I arrive at the Bronson/Ford residence an hour later, and the cries of my best friend's eight week old daughter greet me loudly before I've even walked down their drive.

'See, look who's come to see you! You have to be quiet now Auntie Tyra is here!' Anna says to baby Myra as she lets me in, with a very loud and very pink faced baby in her arms, giving me a one armed hug and a kiss on the cheek in greeting, me returning the same gestures and then, being the good friend that I am, taking the baby from her. I hate these smelly, loud little things with a passion, but Myra is an exception I suppose. She is very beautiful, but I don't enjoy the decibels she can reach. Which is the reason why I just took her from her exhausted looking mother, since somehow Auntie Tyra has the magic touch and she stops crying when I hold her...ahhhh damn I just jinxed myself...she's still howling. How can people do this to themselves? I'll never know!

'So she's still cranky then I see' I reply lightly, watching Anna yawn and sweep back her messy deep golden blonde hair, tying it all back up before rubbing her eyes as we walk through to the back yard, sitting down in the lovely April sunshine, with little Miss Ford still perforating my left ear drum as I bounce her around and try to soothe her. An effort that isn't working for shit I might add.

'Yes, she's only content when she's nursing or when her daddy is pulling silly faces at her. I feel useless, can't even calm my own baby down' Anna replies, looking depressed.

'Hey, that's my best friend you're shit talking about over there' I begin, still bouncing Myra in my arms. I like how her name is almost the same as mine, save one letter. She's actually named after Anna's grandmother, Myra Jane, who passed just before Anna found out she was pregnant. 'And from what I understand, which is limited, kids are damn hard work, aren't you?' I then add, the last part to Myra. Real tears too, not just noise for the sake of it. No wonder Anna feels like that.

'I know, it's just hard because you know, she lived inside me for so long, and I feel such a bond to her, but sometimes I just don't think she likes me much' she replies, suddenly bursting into tears. Great, I'm not the best when people start to cry. It makes me very uncomfortable, and dealing with a screaming baby as well as seeing my friend so obviously distressed is not exactly a nice situation to be in. I wish I could find Myra's off switch, because Anna looks drained.

'Come on, shhhh don't cry sweetheart. You're doing a brilliant job; it's impossible to know why a baby cries all the time really, to know exactly what it needs. But from where I'm sitting, she's getting everything she needs already, which doesn't make you a bad mom at all. And no she doesn't like you, she loves you' I reply, making Anna smile and then cry more as she pushes a bundle of tissues to her eyes, and reaches for my hand I freely offer, squeezing her fingers tightly to affirm my words.

'Here, give her to me and let me see if she wants another feed' she replies after sniffing and ceasing her tears, taking Myra back gently from my arms and unhooking the catch on her nursing bra, the baby latching on immediately and then...silence.

'Ahhhhh, better' she tells me, looking a lot more serene. Dmitri can have the baby for a day at the weekend, I think I just decided I'm going to spoil her and take her out for the day, get her hair and her nails done which is about the only vaguely girly past time I actually enjoy, going to get beautified with Anna, who's had to abandon getting her roots done for the last nine months of course, and took all her acrylic nails off recently since she didn't have time to go and get them re done.

'Let's just hope its still like this when there's no nipple muffling the sound' I reply, making her laugh, something I think she needs right now.

'So anyway kitty cat, how've you been keeping? It seems like forever since we last spoke' she then asks me, stroking a tiny eyelash away from Myra's cheek as she looks down upon her adoringly.

'Fine, the usual, you know me. I'm boring. If I'm not working I'm not doing much else' I reply, seeing her nod.

'Hold on, no third date with Danny? I thought you were really into him, regardless of how quickly you'd met him?' she quizzes me.

'Ah, yeah, erm, something got in the way of that. That something being somebody, Eric' I reply, watching her eyes widen.

'You didn't!' she exclaims, mouth now as wide as her eyes.

'I did' I reply, cringing.

'I knew it! I knew you wouldn't be able to resist the temptation! Oh my god! So what was it like? Do they even do it like we do still? Was it a one time thing or what?' she asks me, her questions free flowing like a torrent.

'It was amazing, too good to be honest. And yes, having sex with a vampire is the same in that respect, except they can move faster and go for longer than a human. And as for if it was a one night thing or not, yeah, I think so' I reply with a nod, happy to draw the line under it as just that. I don't want to sit here and go over all the finer details, like how he changes when he drinks my blood, how we were together, because it's pointless. On my run I decided something; phase two of 'The plan of Lafayette' as I like to call it. If he fucks with me when I see him again, starts messing with me, I'm gone. Simple as that, I'll just hand my notice in and tell him he can find another moron to fuck and do his goddamned books.

'Damn! That sounds hot for a creature with a body temperature of below zero! And are you happy with that, it just being a one night stand?' she asks me, wiping away dribbled milk from Myra's cheek as she continues to suckle happily.

'Yeah of course, I can just file it along with the rest of the stories I plan to tell your grandchildren, since I'll have none of my own' I reply, making her chuckle softly again.

'I think that one might border too much on TMI, and besides, when that happens it probably won't be so controversial any more either' she replies.

'Yeah well, if they ask me I can say yes and leave it at that' I reply with a shrug, this time laughing a little myself. And then the subject of Eric is firmly closed, and I don't dwell on it any more that afternoon or evening that I spend with my friends. I just enjoy their company, and feel very pleased for them that Myra went down without fuss and was still sleeping soundly when I left somewhere close to 11pm. And over the next two days I manage to busy myself enough not to think about Eric much at all, even though I can still smell him in my bed. So strange, considering I changed the sheets and all, and then changed them again just to be certain. No, I fill my time with work, getting everything done and all of the box files dropped back to their rightful owners, booking Anna and I in at a salon on Saturday (after taking Dmitri aside on the Monday that I visited and quietly putting the idea to him, and him firmly agreeing of course), running, running and more running, and tonight I met Lafayette's new guy in Merlotte's where I enjoyed two bottles of red to myself and had a great time getting to know Jesus. But, it does leave me with a slightly bad head the morning afterwards, which isn't the way I really wanted to feel when coming face to face with Eric again.

I arrive at 5pm sharp, being let in by Ginger and then babbled at by her about whether or not I'd seen her red leather jacket anywhere, and that she had $50 in cash in it. I reply no before moving away from her and heading down to the office, wondering how much work I can get done before I'm disrupted by a certain someone. A certain someone who's already in the office when I enter, and he's not alone either. Oh no, he's sat in the chair with Deborah draped across his lap, running his tongue up the side of her neck, his hands down her top playing with her breasts; deliberately setting this up so I'd walk him and see it, and get a nice kick in the guts. Nothing says 'fuck you' more to the woman you had sex with the previous week than by setting up being caught about to do the same with another. Except there's no way in hell I'm giving him the satisfaction of knowing I care.

'You'll have to do your work elsewhere today Miss Boden, as you can see, the office is occupied right now' he drawls at me, his face smug, lit up even as he waits for some kind of reaction.

'That's fine, I have my laptop on me anyway so I'll just go out and work in the bar, keep Ginger company while she bottles up. And hey Deb, great dress by the way hon' I reply cheerfully, without a hint of anything other than total calm normality to my voice as I pick up the box file from off the desk, smile at them both, and then leave. While inside, my fury at what a bastard he is and how much he enjoys playing with people burns like a forest fire. But I maintain he WILL NOT get one over on me.

'Why y'all up here and not down in the office?' Ginger asks me, a little startled when I dump my bag down on top of the bar and remove my laptop, putting the box file down next to it

'Eric's busy in there. Care to plug this into the outlet just down there for me?' I ask her as I pass her the laptop power plug and point at an outlet down by the chiller cabinets, realizing that minute by minute, angry as I am, I'm just as upset too. And I hate myself for it, for letting him hurt my feelings. Feelings I never wanted to have for him.

'Oh, right' she replies lightly, yet her eyes tell me she knows exactly why Eric is busy. She's not as dumb as she seems Ginger, and she affirms that for me by pouring me a small glass of red wine and sliding across the bar to me a few moments later.

'On me' she says, but leans forward and gives me a little hug I return with a quick back pat for her, sympathy all over her face when she looks at me again. 'You're not the first' she then states.

'And I doubt I'll be the last. Anyway, work calls' I finish for her, gesturing to the laptop sat in front of me. She gets the hint and leaves me to it, where my peace is undisturbed for a total of ten minutes, before Pam enters.

'Hello blondie, may I enquire as to why you're sat up here instead of being hunched over the PC in the office?' she asks, coming up behind me and squeezing my shoulders, before sliding onto the bar stool next to me.

'Because Eric's too busy playing childish games to let me work in there' I reply, not looking away from the screen.

'Childish games that involve a certain bar manager who isn't where she should be around now?' she asks me, hitting the nail square on the head.

'However did you guess?' I reply with mild sarcasm, turning to face her.

'Because I knew he would, I knew he'd pull some kind of stunt like this. Just to push you away because of how he feels. This is all him sugar, you've done nothing wrong. And you know what? I'm sick of this game he's playing with you. It ends now' she replies, before she disappears like a shot and a second later I hear the office door opening and shutting around the corner, a few seconds after that the same noise again before Deborah appears.

'Just so you know Tyra, I knew exactly what he was planning, you walking in and seeing us like that. But also just so you know, I wanted no part of it' she says as she walks past me and around the bar, pressing a hand to my shoulder while I sit and have a realization come over me. What the hell am I even still doing here?

'You know Deborah, I honestly do appreciate that. But I'm about ten minutes past caring' I reply, finishing my little glass of red as I shut down the file I'm working on, and then my laptop too while I throw all the invoices back in the box file. 'I'm gone, nice knowing you' I then tell her after I've packed everything away.

'Good choice darlin', you're too good for him. In every sense' she tells me, smiling as I pick up the box file and then head down to the office to give my soon to be ex boss and one time sexual partner the news. Except when I reach the office door, I can hear Pam mid rant and wait back to hear what she has to say to him. This'll be good.

'Eric never, in the hundred years I've known you have you gone to such lengths to fuck with someone's head, and then try to make them jealous. Why? If you don't care about her like you keep professing you don't, then why are you continually screwing with her life? Glamouring Darren to forget all about her, and then making her fall down a flight of stairs, a fall that would have killed her? Just so you could get your blood into her and keep emotional tabs on her. And then threatening me with having my fangs if I ever told her? Do you know what that's been like for me? She's become a friend to me, and you've made me lie to her because you know my duty and loyalty as your progeny binds me to you. That's not the Eric Northman I know, how you're acting is below you. You're too good for this, and you know something? That woman out there is too good for you! You're hurting her because you can't stand the fact she's not just a fuck to you, as well as your single minded obsession with finding out what she is. With all the respect in the world, I still have to say I'm appalled right now!' Pam fumes strongly, yet not raising her voice even once. No one will have the chance to shout though, because I'm finishing this right now. Setting the box file down on the floor, I open the office door and walk in boldly, being met with a sharp look from Eric immediately.

'You, you will always be my friend, what I overheard will never change that' I first say, pointing at Pam and watching her nod, looking like she's bracing herself a little. 'And you?' I begin, storming around the desk to Eric. 'This is for almost killing me, rot in hell you asshole, and by the way, I quit' I tell him before punching him straight in the face, making sure I use the hand I'm wearing a silver ring on, hearing his skin smoulder and him make a grunt of pain, before I hear an infuriated growl, and then suddenly feel a force grab me. Except that force is not him, it's Pam moving me out of harms way and putting herself between me and an enraged Eric.

'What the hell is that hanging around your neck?' he suddenly asks, perplexing both Pam and I as we just stare at him.

'I punch you in the face and you enquire about my jewellery? Just what kind of a deranged psychopath are you Eric?' I ask him incredulously, anger rising in my voice. What fucking planet is he on?

'Who gave you that key?' he asks strongly, pushing Pam out of the way and stepping closer to me, staring at the little brass key on a thin gold chain, a gift given to me by someone very, very dear.

'None of your business' I spit back, temper beginning to flare.

'I SAID WHO GAVE YOU THAT KEY?' He then roars, before I find myself grabbed by my hair and my face slammed into the side of the filing cabinet that stands behind me like lightning.

'The man everyone made me believe was my imaginary friend when I was little. This is the only proof I ever had that he was real, now will you just let me go and stop being weird? I've had enough of you for one lifetime Eric!' I reply, not showing him how scared and quite honestly, freaked out I feel right now. I then feel him let me go, at the same time I feel the chain around my neck break as he pulls it from me.

'Godric was no imaginary friend, he was my maker' he tells me, before poof, he's vanished.

'Wh-what?'I stammer, with Pam actually rushing to me and putting her hand on my shoulder.

'You knew Godric?' she asks me, with wonder in her voice.

'I don't know anything anymore' I reply, picking up my bag from where it got flung when Eric grabbed me, and running out as fast as my feet will take me, huge sobs welling up in my throat, sobs that I only let out once I'm out of the club and in my car, where I proceed to cry my eyes out in a mixture of anger, upset and confusion, confusion over everything...it's like someone flipped a switch and I no longer know up from down. Godric really, really was real. And he never looked a day older in all of that time because he was a vampire. Strange that, how once what was my constant comfort in life is now my constant cause of distress.

Eric's POV.

As soon as I saw it glinting around her neck, I recognised the little symbol on the flat face of the tiny brass key hanging upon the gold chain I now have in my hand. Why? Because it's the same symbol that's embossed onto the lock on the box Godric bequeathed to me, the one I've never been able to open; until now of course, now I realized why he sent her to me. Obviously whatever is in this box is important, and he used her as an unaware secret keeper or a set up similar to that, giving her the key and then pointing her in my direction years later, clever enough not to give her a clue about any of it, even convincing her he wasn't real by the sounds of it. He was nothing short of brilliant in his intelligence. And now I have what I need I can easily let Tyra walk out of my life. Now, to discover the meaning to this cryptic mess he left me to sort out.

Taking the box off the shelf I've been storing it upon I sit down on the couch and place it down on the table in front of me, putting the key into the lock and turning it to hear that magic noise I've wanted to hear since it was first delivered to me; the lock clicking open. Lifting the lid, I see many pieces of paper, some old parchment style, others more modern, including an old yet pristine scroll, except its just parchment rolled up. And I have absolutely no idea how long the roll is until I study how many times it's been wound around itself neatly, and then get up, take the box and crouch down behind the couch, holding one end of the scroll and then pushing the other end out to unravel it, yet when I push it, the slight slope of the floor giving it momentum, I find it doesn't stop, still coiled around itself a little when the wall right over the other side of my home provides a buffer for it to come to a halt against.

And so I cast my eyes down, and take in what it is immediately as I read the names Lydia Boden and Arvid Northman, the names Eric Northman, Felix Northman, and Astrid Northman all stemming from them; me and my siblings of course. It's my family tree, except it's stretching a hell of a lot further than I ever thought it could, but then noticing it again I look closer and see a line leading from my grandparents, and splitting in two to show my mother and us, and my Uncle, Thomas Boden, where the line then descends from all the way across the parchment that's unravelled across my floor. Picking it up in my hands as I study it, I see a meticulous record of the family line from the Boden side, spanning through the years, each with a black line marked to show the end of a particular family line off the main trunk of the family tree if you will, yet that main trunk keeps on going, and going, until I'm reading the years entering the 1700's and still no closer to the end. The detail is incredible, detailing a family, descendants I didn't even know I had, since Thomas Boden was missing and presumed dead back in the year 972AD. But here they all are, impeccably catalogued into the order they lived and died, right up until here, right up until the last name appears right at the very end of the parchment I've reached.

'Tyra Boden' I say in barely more than a whisper. Leaving the scroll there on the floor I get up, and almost float over to the couch again, crashing down and sitting staring right ahead of me, hardly able to believe this. No wonder she felt so familiar; I was sensing my own blood; that was what it was all the time. Taking the box I look through it, seeing two letters and nothing else, one addressed to me and the other to Tyra. Taking the one with my name written upon the envelope I open it up and unfold it to read the following;

_Eric,_

If you are reading this, then you know part of the reason why I sent Tyra to you. I hope that perhaps having a family member of sorts, a descendant, someone who you may have noticed is very much like you in a lot of ways (bad tempered, stubborn, beautiful and intelligent to name a few), will fill the void my absence leaves. You are all the other has left of course, and I do hope that you look after one another; I know you're capable of doing so Eric. Tyra is a very, very special woman, and I've watched over her and kept her safe since she was born. For as you might well have discovered, she is no human, but to write down in as many words what she is would be dangerous to her safety. And as long as Russell Edgington walks this earth, you must protect her and what she is from him. She is the last left of her kind, and you will discover what she is, but then again Eric you are so sharp it wouldn't surprise me one bit if you do already know as you read this letter. But if not, keep on looking. And remember, look after her. This is a command I expect you to obey.

Godric.

Look after her. So what do I do? The exact opposite. Godric sends me the last little bit of family I have left, and what do I do? Fuck her, feed on her, become so drawn in by her and her blood that I do everything I can to destroy the fact I enjoy her and her company because I'm afraid to lose something I care about all over again. No, I'm not doing that again. I'm not losing the last little part of me there is in this world. Not after Godric went to such pains and lengths to keep her safe for me. I have to make this right.

**Authors note - Once again, thanks for reading and reviewing :) x**


	16. Chapter 16

Tyra's POV.

That's twice now. Twice in as many weeks that the fucker has made me cry, and I haven't cried in over two years before this either. That night, that night he turned up at my house after the Deicide gig, and I agreed to go back to work for him, what was I thinking? Why did I open myself up to all of this, enjoying a flirtation with the big bad vampire, and then give in when all he did was push the right fucking buttons, feed me some cock and bull story about me 'not being human' to make me feel special to get me to open my legs, and then cast me aside afterwards like I always knew he would if I ever gave in to him. I'm a fucking moron for having let myself be played like this, to feel this upset, to be sitting here in a puddle of fabric that is the big old white crochet blanket I've wrapped myself in for comfort (since it was made by my biological mom) crying my eyes out because I don't want to believe that some of what we shared was not real, that it didn't mean anything when for a while it did mean something to me. Lafayette, you were right when you described him as 'one of the most evil, conniving, dangerous and devious vampires around'. He was absolutely right.

It's not like I'm in love with him or anything, and that is the god honest truth I'm telling you, not something I'm trying to convince myself of. No matter what temporary leave of my normal level headed absence I may have took, I do not fall in love quickly. And I know this for sure. But still, when we were together, it felt perfect, I felt content on a whole different level to anything I'd experienced before. Clichéd but true, and you know what I really enjoyed the most? The fact he's Swedish too. Before I left him for the last time we just slipped into our home language, and spoke nothing but it for hours and it was lovely. I miss my native tongue, and often talk to myself in it when I'm alone in the house. It was nice having someone there to actually speak it with though, really nice. Another reason for my tears are my complete and all out confusion and shock about the fact I've been linked to Eric way longer than I ever expected, through Godric.

So now I understand why he never aged a day, and why I never saw him in the day, and why he was pale and cold to the touch. He was a vampire of course, and such a lovely one too. Way less abrasive than Eric, gentle almost, but with much strength you could always feel coming from him through his powerful aura. And I can't even begin to try and work out why, why he visited me, why he gave me that key, and why Eric snatched it away after grilling me over who gave it to him. And then I suddenly remember the little box he asked me to try and pick the lock on, and I remember seeing the same urgency in his eyes then as I did when he was staring at my necklace. So somehow, this was all connected, orchestrated by Godric. Now I think back further, that familiar voice I heard on the phone asking me for my bookkeeping services back in early January could only have been him. He hasn't visited me since I was sixteen now, but I tell you right now I'd do anything to see him at my front door, so I could ask him what the hell is going on. So when I go and answer a knock at the door a little while later, I am sad that the vampire standing on the other side of it isn't Godric. Sad and angry.

'Eric, I've had enough of you playing with me like I'm a goddamned puppet. Just go' I tell him, closing the door again only for his arm to shoot out, his hand holding the top of the frame which prevents me from closing it. 'And I take back my invitation for you to enter my home, so there, now you can't even barge your way in. Fuck off' I then add coldly, glaring at him as he reaches into his jacket pocket.

'I have a lot to be sorry for Tyra, but I want you to read these first before we talk about that. I'll wait until the sun comes up if I have to, I understand my face is perhaps the last in the world you want to see right now, let alone listen to anything I have to say' is all he speaks, in the sincerest tone I've ever heard him use, as he passes me a long scroll of tightly wound paper and an envelope with my name on it, and then walks back a few steps, and just sits down on the porch step with his back to me. Pausing by the front door after I close it again, I look down at the items in my hand and almost wonder what to do with them; this all became very strange all of a sudden. I take them back over to the couch with me and set the letter down between a sleeping Poon and me and then unwind the first part of the scroll, seeing my name, my birth parents names, and then those of their parents, before seeing my mothers' side of the tree breaks off at my grandparents Albert and Claudia Roggman, and unfold the scroll to read what essentially is a very neatly detailed copy of my family tree on the Boden side, and what I assume to have been amongst the contents of that box Eric had. This is getting stranger by the moment. And so back I go, carefully unwinding the parchment at one end and keeping it tidy as I go by rolling it back up again at the other, astounded by how far back this is stretching as the minutes pass and pass...1700's...1500's...1300's...1100's... ...and further, back to 100AD and beyond, back to Henrick Boden, his father Alias Boden, and his grandfather Thomas Boden. Who had a sister, Lydia Boden; married to Arvid Northman. They had three children, Astrid, Felix, and their eldest, Eric Northman...and I just dropped the scroll onto the floor in total shock. I'm related to Eric? Okay so very, very, very, very, very, VERY distantly, I'm technically his last living descendant since the Boden line ends with me, but still...the vampire I now loathe so much for his meddling in my life, nearly killing me and in general being more than just a bit of an ass is the only thing close to family I'll ever have. You've got to be kidding me; this is the stuff stories are made of, not real life in Louisiana 2009! Jesus! I just can't believe this, and I cannot begin to try and work it all out either, the cryptic nature of this whole situation that's suddenly unfolding before me. And then, I remember the letter which I tear open in haste and begin to read, hoping it holds a little more information to pacify my mind, that is currently racing at about a billion miles an hour...

_My dearest Tyra,_

I hope this letter finds you well. And I want to take this opportunity to let you know that even though we haven't seen each other in twelve years, since soon after your sixteenth birthday when I gave to you the necklace, I never left you. I knew that my presence had caused conflict in your life, what with the psychiatrists visits and the stress your adoptive mother and father went through, and all you faced because of it (do you remember when we buried all of your medication at the bottom of your parents garden?) and I decided it was best to watch over you from afar. It was always my duty to keep you safe, for more than one reason too. Please do not think I ever abandoned you though, for I didn't. I've watched over you since you were a baby, saw you grow into a curious, intelligent and strong child, and carry on much the same values when you became the wonderful, successful woman you are today. You've made me very proud. Now, to answer some questions you no doubt have lingering. Firstly, I wish I could be there with you to explain all of this to you, so you could sit and ask unlimited questions I would of course answer as best I could, but sadly this cannot be. In January of the year two thousand and nine I met my true death, walking into the last sunrise I would ever see. I am so sorry that you had to discover this through written word, I did want to come and tell you myself of my decision, but it was just too risky. You will discover why in due course.

I have followed your family line for centuries, guarding your forefathers, and then you, with every moral fibre left in me. It was my duty to do this, as well as my wish. The main reason of this I just cannot reveal to you, there can be no written evidence of what you are, for you are not human Tyra, you are a supernatural and a rare, rare one at that, this is why I cannot tell you I'm afraid, it is something I wish for you and Eric to work together in discovering, and believe me you will learn of your incredible heritage soon enough. Now, I've mentioned Eric here, which leads me on to the next part of what I wish to explain, not that it shouldn't be pretty self explanatory by now anyway. Of course, you are where the Boden line ends, and he is where the Northman line ends. You have seen from your family tree you are his last living descendant, you are both all the other has left in the world now, family of sorts (even though I am not naive to the fact Eric will have seen you as something quite different, as ever he is steered by his loins when it comes to women as beautiful as yourself! I doubt this has changed). He has lost me, and you, you my brave child, you lost everything, and at such a tender age. And because of this I set the wheels in motion for you to find each other after I had met my true death, I didn't want either of you to be alone any longer. I actually think you'd make quite the pair, as I stated in a letter to Eric I consider you to both be as bad tempered, stubborn, beautiful and intelligent as each other.  
I will leave you know with the same words I left him with, and that is to look after one another. You will need each other more than you realize right now. And please, even though I trust Eric and his insightful decisions implicitly, keep an eye on him for me.

Godric.

By the time I'm done reading the above, I'm in tears all over again. Reading that he is no longer here was hard, I always hoped that one day I might see him again. It hurts very much to deal with the fact that I won't, as well as the fact I cannot thank him for looking after me, for whatever the secretive reason, it must have been very important to him. I must have been very important to him. He said I'd made him proud, and to know that just made me cry harder, knowing the one constant in my life was so proud of me. His words do throw me further into the realms of confusion though, having him state to me that I am 'not human'. How would you feel to hear that? To know you're not what you thought you were, yet still not have your 'species' (if that's the correct term) identified to you? And having the task of finding out that set for you, with the help of your oldest descendant who happens to be a vampire you hate right now? I can't even bring myself to invite him in right now, hell I doubt he's still out there. It's been half an hour already, even though it feels like just a few minutes since I shut the door on him.

But, when I get up and head into the kitchen, taking my emergency bottle of brandy (I have to say Lafayette has given me a taste for it) from the cupboard under the sink and pouring a large measure, I can still see Eric through the window sitting on the porch step waiting for me. I don't even think I'd know what to say to him if I did let him come in right now, my head is spinning truly, my emotions all over the place. Time for brandy number two, which I throw down my throat at speed, taking the glass and the bottle back into the lounge and curling up on the couch again, picking up the family tree scroll I dropped upon the floor and putting it on the small table at the side of the couch, and then taking Godric's last letter to me and reading it through over and over, sipping my third brandy at a steady pace rather than knocking it back like I did with glasses one and two.

And all the while as I sit there, I can feel that Eric is still outside, while I remain indoors just fussing a sleepy Poon and sipping brandy, wondering what the hell to do. Should I let him in, hear what he has to say and then discuss this with him? Or shall I just leave him out there in the rain that began to fall just after I'd fetched the brandy from the kitchen? I'm really stuck between a rock and a hard place here, out there is the only, even though so very distant, family I will ever have, but he just so happens to be the most horrible person (or vampire rather) I've ever met. Another hour of decision making follows, before sometime close to 11pm I finally go and open the door, seeing him stand up from the porch absolutely soaked to the skin, walking back to the door slowly.

'You've got a hell of a lot of explaining to do' I tell him, watching him nod curtly, and then drop his head, looking down for a few moments.

'I realize that, and it is what I came here to do' he replies, looking back up, his gorgeous eyes meeting mine as I watch raindrops trickle from his eyebrows and land on his long blonde lashes. It makes my hear skip a beat just to see that, much to my annoyance.

'Well then come in' I reply, swinging the door back and allowing him to enter my home, shutting the door after him. 'You're not sitting on my couch in those wet clothes, so in the bathroom and strip off and get yourself dry while I find you some jeans. My ex was close to your height and he left a few pairs here, I'll see what I can find' I then add, watching him nod again while he follows me through my house and down the hallway towards the bathroom that I push the door to open and switch the light on as indication to him.

'I'm sure I do not deserve to be treated so cordially, thank you for being so hospitable' he replies, taking off the long sleeved black v neck sweater he's wearing, and then wringing it out in the bathtub, no doubt doing the same with the rest of his clothes too as I head off to my linen cupboard to hunt out a pair of Harrison's old jeans for him to wear. Finding a blue pair and examining them to make sure they are clean, sweeping away a few bits of fleece from the blanket they've been stored under with my hand I drop them on the bathroom floor after sticking just my arm around the door and then head back into the lounge.

'Where do you want me to put these?' then comes Eric's voice as I look up and see him holding a black fabric bundle in his hands.

'Here, I'll put them through the wash' I tell him, taking them from him and heading into the kitchen, feeling him behind me the whole time as I load the machine, put the detergent and softener into the tray and start the cycle, turning around to see him looking down at me intently.

'I'm sorry Tyra, and this is the truth. No more games, no more messing your life around, no more hurting you; mentally or physically. I'm ashamed of myself for becoming violent towards you, I truly am. You're all I have left, and I've treated you terribly, perhaps even as badly as I'd treat my worst enemy. All because I didn't want to get too close to you' he tells me, reaching out and resting his hands on my shoulders, his head nearing mine and eventually resting against my forehead. 'I'm so sorry' he then adds in whisper, as I feel myself cave to the moment and I just put my arms around him and rest my head against his bare chest. I don't know why, but I just know he really, truly means it this time.

'You're not forgiven, not by a hell of a long shot. I can understand almost everything else you did, explain it away by your nature and what you are, but making me purposefully fall down a flight of stairs like that? It was beyond cruel of you to put me through that kind of pain, to put me in danger like that. What if I'd had fallen to the floor and broken my neck instantly? Had no traceable heartbeat when you got to me to feed me your blood? What if you couldn't have saved my life and I'd have died there in the cellar? All just to give me your blood to keep tabs on me, it was vile and cowardly Eric' I tell him strongly, yet not raising my voice. I'm too tired, too weary with all of this to shout.

'I know. And I know how much I've deeply hurt you too; you didn't even need to tell me that, I can feel it. Your energy, it feels different to me, I can physically feel how much distress I've caused you' he tells me, while his hand begins to stroke my hair and I feel like bursting into tears all over again. But I hold it back, hold that sob tight in my throat with everything I have, swallowing hard and letting go of him before we walk back into the lounge and sit down on the couch, Poon providing a nice little buffer between us.

'So, you told me you wanted to explain your actions. I think right now would be a good time to begin that' I tell him, reaching for my glass of brandy and taking a small sip, wrapping my feet in the crochet blanket I previously had around my shoulders, watching him begin to stroke Poon and then very surprisingly let her get on his lap when she gets up and climbs onto him before curling up again, his fingers stoking her just behind her ears and under her chin. She's such a fuss whore, she really doesn't care who you are or how long you've been in her home, she'll come and curl up with you if you let her. She isn't aloof like a lot of cats can be.

'I concur, so I'll start from the beginning, because it would be an exercise in futility I think if I left anything out. You're my family Tyra, my blood, no matter how distant; you deserve not to be kept in the dark. And from this moment forth I will never hide anything from you again because of that. A week before you began working for me, I was in Dallas because a cult religious group had captured Godric, and I of course was duty bound to rescue him, to find out how a vampire of his strength and integrity had been assailed by this group of brainwashed ignoramuses. Turns out he wasn't, he willingly let himself be captured, thinking it would all be for the greater good to let his true death be upheld by them. Little did I know he did want to die, he'd grown too old to want to carry on at almost two thousand, two hundred years old. It was terrible to lose him; I never imagined I could feel pain like I did when I pleaded him not to leave me. And when I returned home, he left me this letter' he begins somewhat at length, walking over to where he took off his leather jacket when he came in and hung it up to dry on the back of a chair, taking a piece of paper and giving it to me while I read the letter from Godric, explaining that he had hired me as Fangtasia's new bookkeeper, that he should not let me leave, that I was perfect for him and that he also had no idea how valuable I was, or would be.

'And so then you came to work for me, and immediately I felt like I knew you already. Of course, it was my own blood I was sensing, the ancient family tie we have to each other. But then there was your energy too, I've never, ever felt an energy like yours before, and that combined with Godric's cryptic message to me just made me even more determined to find out what you were and why he'd sent you to me, and I acted ruthlessly in my pursuit of that knowledge, I know this. And all the while I could feel myself developing a fondness for you, that I didn't want to admit to myself, and if I'm honest I still half don't too. Vampires don't deal with having their emotions stirred very easily, as I'm sure you've been able to attain for yourself. Which then brings me on to when I drank your blood, when I made you fall down the stairs, I drank of you too then and what I felt was...frighteningly real. I felt close to you in a way that I've never shared with any other woman bar Ida, there's was something in your blood that made me loyal to you totally, not wanting to leave you, just wanting to care for you. And it was then that I felt remorse for what I'd done, I was honestly ashamed at myself at that time. And with each time that I've drank your blood since, I've felt closer to you, felt a bond forming that I tried to break, yet deep down I knew I couldn't and actually didn't want to do it. But up on the surface of my psyche I told myself I could not have a weakness, could not and should not let myself open up to you in any way again. When I set it up for you to find Deborah and I together, only half of me wanted to do it. The other half just wanted it to be you in my arms, but I was too afraid to admit that to myself. Too afraid to let myself feel how I did again about a woman as I felt...' he trails off, looking away from me and down at his bare feet for a few second.

'About Ida, because you don't want to lose something you care about all over again?' I finish for him, hoping my simple guess is not too far off the mark. I realize it isn't when he begins to nod.

'Yes, but also I know I could never feel again for another woman what I felt for her, I could never promise that kind of emotional investment; I'm simply not capable. But that aside, I have thought about it, believe me I have thought long and hard, for the two hours it took for you to let me in, and all I can conclude is that if I have a true weakness, it's not being brave enough to let myself do what I so desire to do' he replies, shifting a little in his seat and making Poon get up from her resting place in his lap and hop down to the floor.

'And what do you desire to do?' I ask him.

'To prove I am worthy enough for you to keep me in your life firstly, and to get to know you better secondly. Everything else, whatever it is, will just have to follow that. And to stop acting like the gutless asshole I have become. Pam was right when she chided me, told me I was above such behaviour because I am' he replies.

'I can handle that. So are you saying to me that you want to, I don't know, have a relationship of sorts with me?' I ask him, nervous as to what his answer may be.

'I'd like to discover whether it's something I'm capable of. I cannot promise you I would be though. The only thing I've committed myself to for the last thousand years has been vampirism. Applying commitment to just one person would be very difficult for me to get used to, no matter how much I do genuinely enjoy your company' he replies, while I nod, mulling it over. I have to be honest, what he's said so far is very fair. And honest too; this time, don't ask me why, but I just know he isn't lying to me. And for that, I reward him.

'What was that for?' he asks me after I've moved closer and kissed his cheek softly.

'A thank you, for being so honest with me, no matter how brutal that honesty may have been in parts I very much appreciate it' I reply, watching a small smile curl his lips.

'I'd also like to add here, I'll need considerable time myself, you can't get back on the right side of me that easily. It'll take time, and for me to decide whether you are really what I want, or whether the aggravation you've caused me so far has just damaged that idea beyond repair' I then state. It isn't all dependant on what _he_ feels, or if _he_ thinks _he_ can cope. I do and will have a voice in this.

'Then lets agree to just see how things go' he replies, to which I nod after finishing the rest of the brandy in my glass, setting it down to the side of the couch. If there's only one thing I know I can firmly agree upon tonight, it's to simply see how things go. After so much confusion, so much revelation, simplicity is nothing but a welcome thought right now.

**Authors note - Well, he's been a bad vampire to our leading lady hasn't he girls? Don't hate him too much for it at the moment though, you'll see in chapters to come just how much he makes it up to her :) so glad you are all continuing to enjoy this, keep those lovely reviews a'coming! xx**


	17. Chapter 17

Tyra's POV.

'This still feels so surreal, it really does' I muse aloud, honestly perplexed at the events of tonight, and those of the last four months building up to this.

'Yes, I agree. And will take a substantial amount of time for us both to get used to I think. I have to ask, in the letter that Godric wrote to you, did he allude to the fact that he's, to use a very human phrase; 'no longer with us?' he then asks me.

'He did, that will take some getting used to too. I know I hadn't seen him in a long, long time, but I always hoped I would again. It's not something I particularly enjoyed learning, knowing I will never see him again. But still, that's your burden more than it is mine, if it still troubles you that is?' I ask him, watching him nodding.

'It does from time to time. I hadn't seen him in nearly sixty years when I found him in Dallas, but I could always feel him. Not being able to feel him any longer, well I suppose that's something every vampire who has ever lost their maker struggles with for a time' he concedes.

'Especially when you'd known him for such a long, long time' I reply.

'Yes' he replies with, before looking thoughtful for a few moments. 'Tyra, there is something pressing we must discuss, and that is the fact that Godric informed me in letter that you are definitely not a human. We must deal with this, and soon' he then adds, his mood changing totally, becoming efficient and quite hard again, his warmer (yet still flat) tone disappearing in the efficiency somewhere along the way.

'He didn't say very much about that in his letter to me, he basically just confirmed your suspicions that I'm not human. He told me I was 'a supernatural, and a rare, rare one at that' was how he worded it exactly' I reply, picking at a stray thread of cotton at the bottom of my black leggings, tying it into a knot and breaking the long piece to prevent my fiddling fingers from dismantling the whole seam.

'He confided in the letter that he left to me that you were the only one of your kind left' Eric replies. 'Which means we're going to have to do a hell of a lot of searching to discover what you are, because not much documentation exists about rare supernatural's, which always makes me surprised when you consider mermaids and how much is known about them' he replies, while I feel my jaw hit the floor.

'What?' I say in a high pitched squeak.

'Mermaids, or merpeople as they liked to be referred to were very much real, but sadly because of increased larger scale fishing it became too difficult for them to remain a mystery when they kept getting caught up in huge driftnets and brought ashore. Of course, the findings were largely hushed up by the powers that were in whatever part of the world they'd been caught. But they died out totally about fifty years ago' he informs me. This is something truly amazing about Eric; he really is a walking encyclopaedia.

'That's amazing, but sad though, that they've all died out' I reply.

'So, back to you then, I remember once you stated to me you had no notable qualities you could think of that were anywhere out of the ordinary, that would make you anything other than human. But in light of what Godric announced to us both, I think we need to spend considerable time putting thought into that. I want you to sit and think, think very carefully about any kind of strange event that might have happened, no matter how trivial you might consider it to be, just anything that you've experienced that's vaguely strange for some reason. Think' he instructs me, while I take a deep breath, holding it and then sighing it out, beginning to do just that; think.

'Thus far all we have to go on is that you drawn in vampires, you transmit energy to them that feels pleasurable, your blood makes me feel more powerful and sharpens my senses more acutely, and you do not have the sexual appetite of a human at all. Most human women utter the word 'ouch' after eight hours of sex, you didn't. Surely you've had lovers in the past to notice that?' he asks me, giving me a not so innocent look, like his thought pattern is being betrayed by his face. Filthy Viking.

'Yeah, every man I've ever been with apart from you hasn't been able to keep up with me. They'd fall asleep and I'd keep going on my own until I was satisfied. I'm not easily sated' I reply, watching his face change, his eyes closing and a small pained frown appearing across his forehead.

'Thank you for that Tyra' he says, sounding as pained as his frown looked.

'Sorry, I was just being honest' I mutter in reply, smiling shyly.

'And now I'm stuck with the mental image' he replies, shaking his head and giving me a lust filled look.

'And an enormous erection' I observe, casting my eyes down briefly to see it slightly tenting the jeans he's wearing.

'Care to help me with that?' he asks, running a finger up the inside of my forearm.

'You'll be lucky; you're getting nothing until I know for sure you're not going to turn into a raging asshole again. Sorry' I reply, seriously but lightly.

'Then I shall accept that as it is. Good point, it's no more than I deserve. I shall just have to cope' he replies in agreement.

'You can always take Deborah off to the basement to fulfil your needs' I snort, not able to resist twisting the knife a little with my words.

'But I'm no longer interested in Deborah, and if I went off and fucked any woman I pleased in order to keep my own levels of arousal in check while you gave me the sexual cold shoulder, I wouldn't be doing very much to dissuade the 'asshole' notion now would I?' he says, sharply and flatly.

'Sorry' I reply.

'So you should be, and now we're even so please, don't try to break by balls over it' he tells me, adding a touch more warmth to his icy words by reaching out and taking my hand, squeezing it a few times, but not letting go immediately. He waits a few moments, almost like he's trying the gesture on for size, and then let's go, stroking the back of my hand with his thumb before withdrawing contact. 'Anyway, back to your thinking if you please' he then adds. And so I do just that, wracking my brains for anything that may have appeared unusual about me, anything I did or situations I was in that didn't feel quite right. And as I look over to where my running shoes under the small, long table out in the hall where the rest of my shoes live on or under, I think of something.

'I can see incredibly well in the dark, I swear it's like I have built in night vision. I go running through the forest when it's as dark as it is now, and I see fine. Also, mentioning that, I do run pretty quickly' I say suddenly, turning to Eric and watching him nod carefully.

'A mental note has been made, resume brain wracking' he replies crisply, while I do just that, thinking and thinking until my head hurts.

'Okay, I've given myself a headache now' I tell him after about twenty minutes of silence. 'The only other thing I can think of is that I have other sharp senses too. When Lafayette lights a joint out on his balcony, I can smell it, and even though I changed the sheets last week when I got back here, I could still smell you in my bed. I know when someone is behind me too; I can feel their presence automatically. But lots of people are like that, with keener senses. It's not anything out of the ordinary' I finish, blinking heavily a few times and trying to wake myself up a little.

'That may be the case, or they may be traits of what you are. Either way those details, and the ones counted previously are not enough to deter what you are' he replies, while I just nod.

'I'm happy just being plain old Tyra right now' I confess, watching him smile, a small burst of air coming from his nose as he makes an amused noise, and then puts an arm around me and pulls me closer to him.

'You are far from plain' he tells me, leaning around and planting a kiss on my lips. 'Sorry, am I allowed to kiss you since anything similar is off limits?' he then asks me with mild sarcasm, thumb stroking my chin.

'I suppose I can allow that, you do happen to be very good at it' I tell him.

'A compliment too? I do feel honoured, just make sure you don't stretch yourself too much though' he replies, this time sarcasm raging fully as he gives me a challenging look.

'Eric?' I say.

'Yes?' He replies.

'Shut the fuck up you prick' I tell him, before pressing my lips to his and effectively shutting him up for him. And once I'm done shutting him up after a few minutes of kissing, kisses that leave me burning with desire, I go off into the kitchen and flick the kettle on, taking his clothes from the washing machine and transferring them to the dryer while I wait for the water to boil and then prepare myself a much needed coffee, to counteract the sleepy feeling the brandy gave me.

'Your clothes will be dry in about half an hour' I tell him as I walk back out into the lounge and sit down.

'Thank you' he replies, not looking particularly happy suddenly. I guess it right away though.

'Sorry, I understand that food or drink aromas aren't particularly pleasant to vampires, but it was either this or have me fall asleep in about ten minutes' I tell him, setting my coffee down on the floor to the side of my feet.

'I think I'd rather have had you fall asleep. If I could vomit now, I would' he says, eyeing the coffee cup with mild disgust.

'Haven't you gotten used to it by now?' I enquire.

'That doesn't mean I have to like it, much like I hate the smell of the chicken someone close by is currently frying too, but that's not in the same room as me so it's easier to ignore. When the source of the smell is right there in front of you, it's different. I don't spend much time in such close proximity to nauseating aromas, so I shall have to get used to it' he informs me, not sounding happy at all about having to get used to something he dislikes so intently.

'Then I'll make it easier on you and try not to eat or drink anything with such a strong smell' I reply.

'To me, everything has a strong smell. Like I can tell that so far today your cat has been asleep in the laundry, been next to nettles, and had a fight or at least some kind of encounter with another cat. That's how sharp a sense of smell vampires have' he informs me, while I nod, realizing how limited my knowledge really must be.

'Poontang, what did I say about sleeping in the fresh linen?' I say to her, raising an eyebrow and watching her look up, meow, and then curl up again.

'What a very appropriate name' Eric then says, laughing that small 'burst of air through the nose', barely a laugh at all laugh he has.

'So you speak Egyptian then?' I ask him. Poontang is Egyptian for pussy, so I thought it quite fitting and unique too. And then I'm baffled when he replies in what must be the language. 'Sorry, didn't have a clue what you just said then. I chose her name from reading the word in a book' I then add.

'I said yes I do' he replies.

'So what other languages do you speak then, apart from the obvious two of Swedish and English, and Egyptian?' I then ask with curiosity.

'Russian, French, Dutch, German, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Gaelic, Swiss, Afrikaans, Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese, Kanji, Mandarin, Urdu, Punjabi and Greek' he replies, while I just feel amazed. But then again, he is over a thousand years old. He's probably more staggeringly learned than I can even comprehend. 'And you? What else do you speak apart from our language and English?' he then asks me, while I try to remove the amazed expression from my face. He speaks twenty one languages, that's fucking impressive.

'Russian and a tiny little bit of Spanish, that's all' I reply, feeling like I totally pail in comparison.

'Four languages are more than most people can speak. And most people, especially around here, have enough problems grasping English so I've noticed' he replies, making me laugh softly and then pull an agreeing face.

'I suppose so, most of who have three teeth and a double barrelled first name' I observe, watching him nod, a slight smile curling his lips. I have to get used to the fact that what I say to that normally makes people laugh will be largely lost on him; not much tickles a vampire's funny bone. Most don't have one at all though. Say if I was to do my 'how many politically incorrect gags can Tyra squeeze into a minute' routine he wouldn't even flinch. Pam on the other hand, I've made her laugh with that very routine. She still has a well intact joie de vivre to an extent, she does like jokes in terrible taste. 'So have you lived in many of the countries whose languages you speak then?' I then ask him, curious to learn. I know he and Godric largely lived in Scandinavia for a few hundred years, before they parted ways in the 1400's for a few hundred years, for Eric to 'gain his own experiences' as it had been worded to him. But I don't know much else.

'Yes, I'm well travelled, but it did mean spending an unfeasible amount of time on boats, travelling in a coffin right down in the bowels of the ship. I'd only surface at night to feed. I travelled from Russia to Alaska once, it took four months to get there' he begins. 'But, you're too tired to sit here and listen to me speak of places I've been and things I've seen in the last thousand years. You should abandon the coffee and go to bed' he then adds, like he's telling me rather than suggesting the idea.

'That would be rude though, since I have a guest at present' I tell him, poking him in the arm with my nail to affirm of course, he is said guest.

'Well your guest isn't in a hurry to go anywhere, especially since he has no clothes to go anywhere in at the moment. Besides, you have an interesting collection of books I can work my way through while you sleep, and then leave before sunrise' he tells me, looking like he's comfortable with the idea.

'If you're sure' I reply, beginning to get up.

'I am' he replies, getting up too and walking over to my bookshelf, looking up and scanning the titles while I take my coffee back into the kitchen, pour it away and set the mug down in the sink and then head through to my bedroom, to the window to turn the stick that closes my blinds, plunging the room into total darkness I navigate through easily to turn on the nightstand lamp, and see Eric standing in the doorway.

'Those blinds, do they let in any light at all?' he asks me, looking a little thoughtful.

'Not a flicker, I can't stand to sleep in a room that isn't totally dark' I tell him, walking over to him as I tie my hair back with a band I found by the lamp.

'Then perhaps I shall stay, perhaps. Goodnight' he tells me simply, leaning forward and kissing my cheek before walking away back into the lounge, and leaving me to go and wash and brush my teeth, before falling into bed and just lying there for a few minutes, trying to make my brain stop going a mile a minute, processing everything it's been fed tonight. It doesn't take time though, the mental and emotional exhaustion that's built up all day just makes it turn off and send me to sleep within twenty minutes or so, falling asleep with my last conscious thought of wondering what Eric has found to read. And when I awake again four and a half hours later, feeling a weight press into the mattress behind me, I discover what choice Eric made as his arm wraps around me, and I just close my eyes and fall comfortably back to sleep. You know when you wake up first thing in the morning and you feel too hot and all uncomfortable? It's very nice to have a cold vampire come and lie next to you, combating that discomfort nicely enough for me to carry on sleeping right through until 9pm. And when I do wake, I turn over and move his arm from around me, resting it over his stomach (the finest specimen of a six pack I've ever seen; it's so rippled it's more like a twelve pack) and then just looking at him for a few moments, and feeling my stomach do a little somersault. He's absolutely gorgeous, and right now there's nothing I'd like more than to wake him up and have mad, passionate sex with him. But he will be made to wait, just until I can really, 100% be certain that he's not going to give me any more grief, have his raging mood swings come back into play. Although I do have to confess that once I've got up and got showered and dressed, going about my day knowing he's asleep in my bed feels nice. It gives me that pleasant tingly feeling in my chest whenever I remember he's there as I eat breakfast, go for a run, clean up the kitchen, and eventually at 11.30am start my bookwork, which I fall into for the next seven hours with only two coffee breaks, until the sleeping vampire awakes, fully dressed in the clothes I pulled from the dryer and ironed for him earlier. I can be thoughtful like that when I put my mind to it, and you know my gripe about creased clothes. I had to strip Lafayette off one day last week before he went on a date with Jesus, I just couldn't let him leave with the creases that were all over the back of his shirt.

'Thank you for ironing my clothes, it's an appreciated gesture' he tells me, coming into my little office and pulling over the chair that stands in the corner and sitting down next to me.

'No problem, just give me a minute to power down and I'll drive us to the club. Do you mind if I do the books down in you apartment? The noise of the music always disturbs me when I work in the office in opening hours' I ask him, noticing that it's 6.30pm, and the music will be blaring loudly by the time we arrive there. Not many people or vampires arrive before about 7pm.

'Of course, would you like to spend the night too?' he asks me, while I begin to close down the files I'm working on.

'Are you sure? I thought since you'd been here all night the last thing you'd want is more of me invading your time after I'm done working' I say, turning to look at him.

'Well, if I'm going to get to know you better than I already do, it will require me to spend time with you. And I don't consider two days a week to be excessive, any more and you might start to annoy me' he replies, dry as the Sahara.

'See you give me two days, you can manage to annoy me in two seconds with comments like that. Bravo' I reply coolly, raising an eyebrow at him.

'Glad to hear I haven't lost my touch' is all he says before he gets up and leaves me to it. It only takes me five minutes to do this and then grab what I need to take with me, before I head back out to the lounge and find him sitting waiting for me, with Poon doing a figure of eight walk around his ankles.

'I'm surprised you tolerate her' I observe, watching him lean down and scratch her head momentarily.

'Vampires actually tend to tolerate cats more than any other animal. They're independent night hunters, much like us' he replies, while I nod. I guess he's right there. Still, it surprises me to see him be gentle and tolerant with something, me especially though. We arrive back at the club at 7.10pm, with him staying upstairs while I head downstairs and begin working, setting my alarm on my phone to go off at 10pm, when I'll head out and down the street to where they have a few takeout places and diners all in close proximity so I can get something to eat without bringing food smells in with me. I appreciate it's something he doesn't like, and I'm prepared to make allowances for it. Hell, he's making a big enough allowance right now, for him this is very welcoming behaviour, wanting me near to him, staying with me last night. But still, half of me makes sure I don't enjoy it too much, because you can just never tell with Eric.

**Authors note - Sorry this chapter has come late ladies, I've been on a 12 hour shift today!xx**


	18. Chapter 18

Eric's POV.

'So then, may I question why when you have Tyra downstairs that you're feeding from Deborah?' Pam asks me after the aforementioned bar manager has sauntered out of the office again. 'And also, may I enquire as to what the fuck is going on too? I think you owe me, as I have the distinct feeling there's things I'm being kept in the dark over' she then adds, sitting down and elegantly resting her feet up on the desk, crossing her legs at the ankle and clicking one spiked heel off the desk top, giving me a look that says 'I'm waiting'.

'You're right, I do have a matter I need to fill you in over. I'll try to do it as quickly and simply as possible, even though it is far from simple. Basically, when I thought I was the last left of my family, I was wrong. It turns out that through my mothers' side of the family, Tyra is my last living descendant, and has been guarded by Godric for her entire life. That key she had around her neck yesterday, he gave it to her years ago, and it was the key to open the box he left for me, which contains this, my family tree, and two letters addressed to Tyra and I. They also lamented to the fact she is indeed a supernatural, and an extremely rare one at that. And no, before you ask, we do not know which one; Godric said it would have been dangerous for what she is to have been noted like that. And as to why I'm not feeding from her, well I feel it'd be reckless to do so, considering feeding from her only draws me closer to her. It has been noted in the past vampires can form blood bonds with supernatural creatures, and I'm wary to the fact that could be happening' I reply, watching Pam's eyebrows rise.

'Well how about that, you find you you've got family, and it happens to be a woman you've fucked. Hillbilly' she replies, smiling with mirth and triumph at her observation.

'It doesn't count when there's one thousand and two years between us Pamela, but it counts enough for me to be responsible for her safety from now on for one thing' I inform her, watching her nod.

'And everything else?' she asks, the question in her tone more than the actual words.

'I won't commit to anything, but suffice to say she is a little more to me now than just the bookkeeper' I reply, not wishing to be drawn into a conversation of this nature.

'Bah, why am I even asking you, I'll just talk to her later' she then says blandly, waving a hand in a dismissive way in my direction before exiting the office and heading back out to the front of the club. The only person I really do with to discuss that with at the moment is myself, as this is something entirely new to me. As a vampire at least, with no want or need for a companion, but finding that beginning to feel somewhat altered by the young lady downstairs. The fact that she is my blood is good enough reason for my interest, but what Godric lightly eluded to, her rare status within the supernatural world, only captivated that interest more. Is it possible I could be satisfied in a monogamous arrangement with one woman? That would depend on what she expected of me. At this point in time, I'm not willing to verbally, or even mentally commit myself to anything. But still, the pull I feel to her, growing ever stronger whenever I feed on her, is something very real. And slightly concerning, since when I do feel on her, her blood intoxicates me to a level where I do not care about anything else but her, and being close to her. Something else I have noticed is that I have begun to be able to detect her inner mood or feelings from her energy too. I could tell earlier how mentally exhausted she was, just from sitting next to her, my leg just about touching hers. It feels different when she's sleeping too, more of soft gentle hum conducted into me from where her body presses against mine. It is something I find myself very much liking to feel, that energy is too enticing by far.

And the other obvious enticement; she's beautiful. Every last inch of her is beautiful, totally unspoiled by adornments such as piercings or tattoos (which I'm no fan of particularly), she looks magnificent naked...and all I can do right now is lie next to that nakedness and keep my hands to myself, which doesn't amuse me in the slightest, but I'll tolerate it. I suppose she's worth it, that's something I cannot deny. Just like I cannot deny that the pull to her is beginning to become much stronger too. Strong enough to ensure I'm only away from her until 1am, when I retreat down to my apartment for the night.

'I half expected to find you asleep' I tell her as I enter, bolting the door behind me and walking over to where she is curled up on the couch with her laptop, still typing away.

'No but I am about to finish up with this for the night, I've caught up with everything I've missed out on recently too' she replies as I sit down next to her.

'You're extremely industrious' I observe, noting the fact that her work is her number one priority for her to only just be stopping at 1.05am.

'A self confessed workaholic through and through, that's me' she replies, flicking through the screens she has open, opening an email in her inbox and beginning to read through. It's when she does this that something catches my eye.

'What's that?' I ask her curiously; barely able to help but feel amused when she hides her face partially behind her hand and makes a groaning noise.

'Nothing, I was just looking up supernatural creatures on the web earlier, seeing if anything looked familiar. But then I realized I don't have a clue which are real and which are mere fabrications of someone's overactive mind' she says, looking a little embarrassed.

'I can answer those questions for you' I reply, taking her by the waist and pulling her onto my lap, watching her turn her head and give me a curious look. 'I can't see the screen when you're sat over there, and now I can' I explain for her. Not strictly true, I use pretty much any excuse I can to touch her, feel her energy.

'Okay then, so I know I'm not any of these more obvious ones, but I'd still like to know if they exist or not, and how they keep so well hidden' she asks me, resting her hand on my shoulder while using the other one to control the laptop.

'Yes, vampires obviously since you're sitting on one right now, werewolves are, witches are, even though only natural witches are assumed supernatural, not practitioners who've learned the craft, angels are not real, although demons are because they usually meet an anguished death, hence they take on the negative energy with them into the afterlife and cannot rest, hence again why demons exist. They're spirits who were done an injustice, and cannot be at peace until they feel they've sufficiently punished those responsible. More peaceful spirits do appear to people, in the form of a ghost, and then there's a whole other offshoot of that with your various good and evil spirit creatures, but not many of those exist any longer. The witches of this earth take care of that. And on with the list, shape shifters are real, zombies are not, Medusas were real a very, very long time ago, as were a lot of the ancient mythical creatures mentioned below, fairies are real and also rare like you, but you are not one of them. I have the distinct feeling you're a thousand if not more times as rare as anything you could ever search for on the internet' I reply at length, watching her clicking onto the next page and sighing.

'I don't like it when I can't work something out, it annoys me' she replies, looking as frustrated as I feel over it, even though I'm the one who's had it gnawing away at him for the last five months almost.

'Well in spending a little more time in your company, I'm hoping I'll begin to notice other traits about you that might give away what you are' I reply, not able to resist the urge to stroke her long, soft hair. What are you, beautiful creature, just what are you? It's one of two things on my mind, the second being my plan of revenge against Russell Edgington, which can finally be executed when he, Sophie Anne, Talbot and their entourage return to Mississippi tomorrow. To make the marriage between Sophie Anne and he more convincing to the powers that be, a honeymoon was necessary, one which I saw them depart on two weeks ago. The comfort of a loving wife, somehow I think that is what the king of Mississippi will require most in the aftermath of what's to come.

Tyra's POV.

'And now for my favourite part of the evening, file, save, done!' I announce happily as I turn to Lafayette, who's sitting next to me in my office. I ducked in to do a bit of finishing off an hour ago, and he's been sitting next to me surfing my laptop, using the line that usually hooks up to the PC. You can't get Wi-Fi all the way out here, we consider ourselves lucky just to qualify for broadband.

'Well I'll drink to that hooker' he replies, chinking his glass of red wine off of mine. I decided I could do with some company yesterday afternoon, and since Jesus has been on shift all weekend and my big buddy here has been off from work he came over at 5pm yesterday, and only left this morning to get a shower and a change of clothes before coming back and doing something very, very unnatural to my house; he cooked breakfast. Shock horror! My pristine kitchen covered in food! But it was very, very good. Corned beef hash, poached eggs and corn bread, and I loved every last mouthful, and highly amused him afterwards by burning candles and oils all over the house and flinging every window open to get rid of the smell. He told me I was 'as bad as yo' boyfriend' as he worded it, to which I informed him 'Eric is not my boyfriend'. And as usual, he made a disbelieving snorting noise, muttered something about me 'loving the dangerous side of life too much', to which I pretended not to have heard. We've got our little routine down when it comes to any discussion about Eric.

'Right, flop out on the couch with a movie time, let's be lazy' I announce once my PC has flickered off and we've stood up, heading back out into the lounge to sit and watch the classic we're both big fans of. One flew over the cuckoo's nest, it's brilliant. We've had a great weekend so far; my stomach still hurts from how much he's made me laugh, especially when he was outside having a joint and just decided to wade out into the lake after stripping to his underwear, singing motown songs at the top of his lungs, and then floating on his back for a while. He's amusing when he's drunk, much more 'action drunk' than I am. I just tend to sit and observe others for my own amusement, like I did sitting on my porch in the warm spring evening, watching Lafayette getting caught up in a patch of reeds at the side of the lake and disturbing the tranquillity by splashing around in an attempt to free himself, while trying not to drop the joint he was still smoking, while I just sat there painting my toenails and laughing at him.

'Oh I love the way a nigga in trouble in the water, and all the ice princess here do is sit and give herself a damn pedicure, hmph!' he fumed when he got out and sat down next to me, dripping water everywhere.

'That lake is three feet deep at this end, the only trouble you were in was managing to keep your joint dry' I replied, making him pull a face that quickly turned into a smile. He's a great guy to be around, just funny enough without going overboard, a likeable character.

'You know, I sometimes think you as crazy as some of these guys, considering what yo' take to bed with you' he suddenly says, giving me a sideways glace to check for a reaction.

'Lafayette, leave it alone' I reply, kicking him softly in the leg as I reach for my wine.

'Leave what alone? The fact you bangin' on the guy the word evil was created for?' he replies with a snort, kicking me back.

'I'll have you know the last time I shared a bed with him all he touched was my stomach, when he put his arm around me' I reply simply, my friend replying in a disbelieving grunt and splutter. 'It's true, he's not getting anything until he can prove he can stop being an asshole' I add, watching him look even more disbelieving.

'Oh and just how many thousand years was yo' planning to wait huh?' he then asks, shaking his head.

'I believe he can do it. He treats supernatural creatures a lot differently to humans; he's a lot more tolerant of them. And he still maintains I am one, so he isn't mean to me all the time. The pleasant side to him is great, he's just...hard still, but something softens in him a little. He's very attentive, not so much romantic, but very attentive. And he's quiet, I like that. He only speaks if he has something totally relevant to say to the moment. And the cat likes him...and I like him Lafayette, so please stop joking about it' I reply, giving him a sincere smile in hope he will stop ribbing me about it.

'Okay peach tree, consider my mouth shut. I's just looking out for you is all' he replies, looking back at the screen but reaching out and rubbing the top of my foot in an affectionate way, a gesture that makes me smile fondly at him. After the movie is over he finally heads off home, going back to clean up before Jesus arrives later this evening, leaving me to do much the same in my own home, starting by plugging my I-pod into its dock and hooking it up to my speakers, blasting a particular favourite Lamb of God album while I clean my kitchen from top to bottom, until all it smells of is alpine fresh cleaning fluid. Much better, and since I've been topping up my candle lit oil burners all day with fudge cookie scented candles and Tibetan mush oil in the burners the rest of the house smells gorgeous anyway. Which is good really, considering I'm about to have two unexpected guests arrive at my door about ten minutes after sundown.

'Hmmmm, unexpected Eric' I say as I open the door to him, registering a slightly unnerved look on his face.

'Unexpected Eric and Pam, she's just supervising the cab driver remove her casket from the roof rack. We need to stay with you for a while; I'll explain all as soon as we get indoors. You look lovely by the way' he says flatly and efficiently, almost making me laugh with the little compliment towards the end as he sweeps in, arranging himself languidly on the couch while I hold the door open wide for the oncoming structure that is Pam's casket.

'I wasn't too sure on the light proof situation in your other rooms, so I thought it'd be better if I bring this. Besides, I'd like a muffler between my ears and the sounds of you two fucking for hours on end' she says as soon as she's paid the driver and shut the door, two cases brought in too.

'If only' Eric says from the couch, giving me a look of displeasure as I walk over and sit down next to him, turning and eyeballing him right back.

'Moody faces won't make my legs spring open' I inform him eventually after just staring at him silently.

'If you truly saw how beautiful you looked right now, you'd be as annoyed if you were me' he replies simply, taking my hand and not holding it, but running his middle fingertip around my palm in a circle as it rests against his leg.

'Tyra switch your ears off, he's just buttering you up because he's fucked up big time. No matter how relevant I think the cause was just to add Eric' she replies, sitting down in the armchair opposite the couch.

'I did not fuck up, I did exactly what I intended to do. It's just put us in a slightly vulnerable position until I can plot my next move' Eric replies, before turning to me. 'I have a lot to fill you in on, so listen carefully' he then adds, before he begins telling me about every in and out of all this 'business' that has been going on between here and Jackson, the V dealing, Pam being taken hostage, everything about the king of Mississippi and the queen of Louisiana and their involvement in it, even Bill Compton and Sookie Stackhouse feature briefly too. But the main current of the story is the fact Eric discovered finally that the man who killed his family was a vampire named Russell Edgington, aka the king of Mississippi. And as for Eric's revenge, well, I'm about to learn that part.

'So when the opportunity presented itself to me, I seduced his husband, and then just before having sex with him, I staked him instead. Russell Edgington took my family; I take his' he finishes simply, while I nod. It sounds perfectly reasonable to me really; I've always believed in an eye for an eye. 'And needless to say, if he discovered that I do have one last family tie of sorts of my own he could well try to use it against me, which is why we have to destroy all evidence of it. The scroll, Godric's letters, everything, we cannot be sentimental about them, it's too dangerous. Especially since Godric confided that Russell Edgington in particular must never find out what you are. If nothing of that nature exists, then there's nothing solid to tie me to you, you're just the bookkeeper for appearances sake. And that is how everything must remain to anyone but the three of us, and perhaps a select few others. Russell Edgington will now try to find an Achilles heel, and that is anything or anyone close to me' he then adds sternly, while I nod and then hop up from the couch and head over to the bookshelf, opening the large, flat dark wooden box I keep incense and candles in, and also where I stored the letter and scroll. I then head over to the kitchen, and then out front door and out onto the porch, jumping down off the side and picking up an old iron cauldron, that did used to have an interesting little bush with burgundy flowers until it died last winter and didn't re flower this spring. I'm no good at sustaining greenery really. But, its former home will do as a place to incinerate all evidence of a link between me and Eric. And the bottle of paint stripper I picked up from under the kitchen sink on my way out here, it'll go up in flames quickly too. And so, with a big vampire for company from out of nowhere (well, the lounge, but he wasn't there a moment ago) I go about tearing pieces off the scroll and putting them into the cauldron, sprinkling on some paint stripper and then dropping a lit match in to watch it engulf.

'It is a pity it had to be destroyed, such meticulous work gathered by Godric for all those centuries. But, we must be practical' he says, coming to sit behind me when I sit down, stretching his long legs out either side of me, resting his arms down on them.

'I completely agree. And for the record, I think you did the right thing. If I could find the asshole who killed my mom I'd cut him from ear to ear' I reply, feeling him rest his chin on my shoulder, and turn slightly to see him watching the fire, the flickering flames that I add to with more pieces of the scroll, feeling a little sad I have to tear up what Godric made for us, what he went to such lengths to keep safe. But at the same time, I know he'd understand why we have to do this. We're doing as he instructed, and looking after each other. And once the scroll and letters, three of them since Eric received one in the days after Godric's death, have all burned away to black ash, he picks up the cauldron and takes it over to the side of the lake, dropping it down into the water and making smoke rise and the scorching hot metal hiss as it cools, washing the ashes away. Ashes in the water, ashes in the sea...

'There, gone' he says, as he walks back and puts the cauldron down, going back to the lake edge a little further down and washing the black ash trails from his hands, hands that are perfect and also unburned again, healing immediately after he'd put the hot cauldron down. Hands that reach for mine and pull me up to my feet, hands connected to two arms that wrap around me.

'So, honestly, am I in danger? And how much danger are you in exactly?' I ask him, resting my head against his chest.

'There's nothing now that links you to me more than say, Ginger or any other human who works at the club. No one but Pam and I suspect you're anything more than human. And as for how much danger I'm in, I just have to disappear for a while, and right here is hidden well enough. He wouldn't expect me to involve humans, if anything he'll think I've gone to Dallas for back up. Especially since I had a computer hacker I know lay a fake credit card trail there, including two flights and hotel reservations. So if he tries to check that way, it'll throw him in the wrong direction for a while' he replies. I love how conniving he is, always a step ahead in his game. Which I hope he remains in this situation with Russell Edgington, the bastard who slaughtered my ancestors, but thankfully spared the one I'm in the arms of now, being steered gently back in the direction of the house, and then inside and back over to the couch, actually pulling me onto his lap.

'Getting your energy fix huh?' I ask him.

'Something like that' he says, just sitting there silent and still, while I rest my head against his hard shoulder.

'Do you mind if I go take a bath? I didn't get time before he ushered me out earlier' Pam asks, while I nod and then get up again and show her through to the bathroom, grabbing some spare towels from the linen cupboard. We also take the chance to move her casket into my little office, which has enough room to fit it easily, me moving one of the tables back against the wall and clearing it of its clutter so she can set out her makeup and jewellery and the like. And once she's taken care of, I assume my position on the couch, or rather on Eric, to enjoy nothing but a long, comfortable silence.

**Authors note - I've been pleased to see more adds to the favourite stories and favourite authors over the weekend, thank you for reading! I am so glad this is being well received, please remember to leave a little review after you've read, I get so excited to see what you all think of how the story is coming along, it's what makes the hours I sit slaving over this fic all worth it! xx**


	19. Chapter 19

**WARNING! Chapter contains VERY STRONG, and VERY graphic scenes of a sexual nature. If such material offends then please do not continue to read!**

Tyra's POV.

'Erm, excuse me. You're invading my shower time, out' I tell Eric as he gets in with me, about five minutes after I excused myself and headed here to the bathroom shower bound.

'I don't like the thought of you being in here naked without me being here too' he replies, his arms sliding around my waist, fingertips stroking my stomach as he begins to kiss my neck.

'And I told you no, so stop' I reply, trying to wriggle free from his grasp, but failing.

'I really don't want to, not now I know how amazing it feels to be inside you' he replies, his hands slowly trailing up to my breasts, stroking them until my nipples harden. But no matter how turned on I am right now, no matter how big the erection he's pressing into my back may be, I shall remain absolute in my decision. And he is absolutely not having me in the shower, and so I finally move his hands, rinse all the conditioner out of my hair, and then slide past him and exit, wrapping myself in towels and watching him give me the same pissed off face he did earlier.

'No, it still won't work' I tell him, amused as his face just looks darker by the second as he slowly turns away, and I leave him to shower in peace. And as I dress, I reflect upon all I've learned this evening, now fully understanding the ruthlessness of vampire politics, and the need for secrecy. I also firmly agree with Eric's slaying of Talbot, Russell Edgington has had that coming to him for over a thousand years. It's that cut and dry to me, I really see no other way around it other than the outcome Eric chose. He's a Viking for god's sake, they're brutal, vengeful, and this one just happened to hold a grudge so deep he waited a millennia to seek out that revenge. Yes, Russell had it coming to him. And yes, I fully understand that could put me in danger because of what I am, Eric's last living descendant, but now there's absolutely no proof of it, no one can ever establish that link. I know I'm safe, and glad that for as long as Eric and Pam are here hiding they will be too. He comes into the bedroom as I'm blow drying my hair, taking off the towel around his waist and then pulling a pair of black pyjama bottoms from the case he brought in earlier and putting them on, and then lying down on the bed, a place I join him once my hair is dry and I've ran a brush through it.

'Have you calmed down now?'I ask him, lying on my front with my arms folded in front of me. He doesn't answer at first, but instead looks down and then reaches out to zip up the tight little hooded top I'm wearing, concealing my cleavage.

'That's better' he replies, arching an eyebrow at me, and then reaching up to wipe his nose, catching a trail of blood.

'You didn't rest much today then?' I ask him, watching him shake his head.

'I didn't sleep at all; I kept guard so Pam could rest safely, just in case. And then we left the club the minute the sun went down, so I think I could do with going to bed when you do to be honest' he tells me.

'Well, there's a documentary about Mussolini on TV in ten minutes, so I want to go and watch that before I turn in. But you stay here if you want' I reply, watching him shake his head.

'At least it's a programme with some worth to it, an educational angle. I usually cannot abide television, but it does sound interesting' he replies, and heads out with me after I've got up. But he only lasts another twenty minutes before he begins to bleed more from his ears this time, and heads back to the bedroom, leaving Pam and I to sit and watch the documentary alone. Even still, once it's over I'm still not tired, so stay up for a while talking to her while she sews a dress she's making right now. She makes a lot of her own clothes, and still takes the trouble to hand stitch something rather than use a machine, her 'old fashioned' side as she calls it. And at 1am I decide to turn in, but I plan to read in bed for a little while first, and since having the lamp on wont wake Eric I might as well take advantage of it. And add the clear top coat to my long burgundy red nails that I didn't get around to finishing earlier, letting it dry while I lie back and read, absorbing more about the tumultuous life of Elizabeth Bathory, the subject of my current book. And after about ten minutes of reading quietly and blowing my nails to help them dry to a glossy finish, I find that there is something that can wake a sleeping vampire.

'What on earth is that noxious smell?' I hear him grumble, lifting his head from the pillow and frowning at me.

'My nail varnish, sorry. I figured you wouldn't smell it since you don't breathe' I reply, as that is honestly what I thought.

'Some strong scents will rouse our senses and wake us, that one is now included on the list of fumes that wake me' he replies.

'Then I shall remember not to paint my nails while you're around in the future' I reply, going back to my book and assuming he'll fall back to sleep now he's had his gripe. But no, instead he makes an observance that shocks me dumb for a few moments.

'Ahh, you're reading about Elizabeth. Perhaps the only human I ever had a genuine fondness for' he says casually, inspecting the cover as he turns onto his side, propping his elbow against the pillows and resting his head on his hand.

'You knew her? Really?' I ask in disbelief, but total curiosity.

'Very well, I met her in 1604 had a casual sexual relationship with her for about two years, until I moved on from Hungary on to Czechoslovakia, as it was still called back then. And yes before you ask, she was every inch as brutal as books depict her to be. She enjoyed watching me fuck her servants and then drain them dry, or bite them and drain them into a bath for her, since I'm sure you've read already she liked to bathe in the blood of young women. She had the most intense blood lust for a human that I've ever encountered, and I enjoyed my time with her greatly' he replies, while I feel my eyebrows disappearing into my hairline in surprise.

'That's incredible' I reply, staring at him and honestly lost for words. I expected him to have had a rich and varied life as a vampire, but now only knowing but having sex with the worlds first female serial killer, well that's really something.

'Pity she tried to sell me out when she was tried for her crimes, saying she'd been under the influence of a vampire, one of the devil's creatures. But of course everyone assumed she was mad, I was four years gone by then anyway, and so a bricked up room was what awaited her after her trial, and where she died eventually. Sorry, have I just spoiled the rest of the book for you?' he replies.

'A little, just don't say too much more about that though. But, you can tell me what she was like, from knowing her personally' I reply, putting the marker back into my book and putting it down on the nightstand and turn to listen to him talk about her instead of reading about her.

'She was insane to put it bluntly, but also extremely intelligent too as is often the way. She spoke three languages, Hungarian, Latin and German. I used to communicate to her in Latin. She had little social conscience, little conscience at all in fact, and was very similar to a vampire in her nature. It's why I enjoyed her company for a time' he replies. I never imagined he'd know well known people from times gone by, but it isn't beyond the realms of imagination; especially not with the likes of Elizabeth Bathory either. She must have really enjoyed having a lover like Eric. I like the way he speaks of his past, so concisely but yet eluding enough detail not to make me question him further. Mainly because right now I just felt my eyelids grow heavy, and the only thing I have on my mind is sleep. So I tell him as much and then switch off the light, my heavy head hitting the pillow and falling asleep not long after. And when I awake again, it's to a very pleasant feeling of my bare back being kissed.

'I strongly advise you just to give in' he whispers, mouth moving to the back of my neck and kissing me there, his hands sliding underneath me and rubbing my breasts. And I lie there, trying to think of a smart comeback for a few moments, before the feeling of his lips trailing back down my spine makes me shudder so hard that I almost forget why I'm denying him in the first place. I can remember though, but the effect he has on me makes me begin to stop caring.

'If I do, you better make it worth my while' I reply eventually, figuring I really don't want to deny myself anything as good as him.

'You know that will be guaranteed, now, stay exactly where you are' he tells me, moving to kneel astride me and beginning to run his hands up and down my back, kissing me from one shoulder blade to the other, and then slowly, teamed with swirls from his tongue, down my spine, his hands lowering to knead my ass cheeks, arousal burning strongly inside me when I feel his mouth meet my lower back. His hands then lift my hips off the bed and push my legs apart, and I take my weight onto my knees, keeping my upper body pressed down onto the bed and making a light exclamation of pleasure when I feel his lips kissing the back of my thigh, that little sigh turning into a long, low moan when the next kiss bestowed on me is to my pussy lips, his tongue pushing between them and straight inside me, circling my opening slowly but firmly. That alone is enough to keep the moans coming from deep in my throat, but the presence of his fingers rubbing between my labia and then over the tip of my clit just make them more high pitched, and longer, because it feels so, so good. Until his tongue moves from inside me that its, and then begins to circle my ass before pushing inside there too; and then it just feels incredible, and then even more so again when he moves rapidly, lying underneath me and pulling my hips until I'm closer him, his mouth locking on around my labia and clit, sucking on them hard while I feel a finger sliding into my ass, and then one into my pussy too. I just died and went to heaven; I haven't had a man willing to do this to me for a while now. It certainly wasn't my most recent ex's cup of tea, and fuck I've missed it. Yes, I am a self confessed dirty girl.

Eventually, I feel the suction of my wet, soft flesh released, and his tongue rub against my clit so hard I actually feel light headed, like that rush you get after holding your breath for a long time, when for a few seconds you're not sure if you're going to pass out or not, my head feels blurry like that. My legs begin to shake, each connecting nerve to my groin stimulated into judders as the pleasure sweeps through me in a strong flow, the finger in my pussy retreating to join the other in my ass, a loud moan escaping my mouth, my hands gripping the pillow in front of me. Damn he's good, he's an absolute god at knowing exactly what to do with a woman's body, not that I'd ever tell him in as many words though; his ego is big enough as it is. And besides, he knows already. And for me, knowing this isn't going to stop at any point soon just adds to the arousal I feel, which is simply immeasurable to anything or anyone I've felt before; but then again that isn't difficult for him when vampires can move at the speed they do, his tongue working at a very unnaturally fast pace against my clit right now, making it so hard and sensitive it isn't long before I...

'Oh, oh, ohhhhh fuck...mmmmmmm!'I exclaim as that beautiful, all consuming feeling of bliss hits me, and his fingers and tongue just keep moving, and then pause for a moment when he turns his head and bites my inner thigh, yet doesn't feed from me, just groans that gorgeous, deep aroused growl of his and runs his tongue over the wound. I've overheard people in the bar talking about vampires doing this, a practice known as dry biting, done when a human wants to feel the pain of being bitten without being fed upon, or the natural reaction of a highly, highly aroused vampire. I definitely have the latter on my hands right now, the way his mouth relentlessly attacks me, sucking, licking and now biting too conveys it strongly. And if that doesn't, the sudden feeling of him moving and then sliding his iron hard cock into my wetness does, stretching me, filling me deeply and pressing nerve endings so deep within, but yet only gratifying me with a few long, slow, deep thrusts before pulling out again, with the place he re seeks entrance now being my ass, slowly pushing against the tight, puckered muscle until the head of his erection slips in, the rest of him sliding it to the accompaniment of a moan so deep from me I'm surprised it came from my mouth, and the sound of my nails dragging across the sheets add to it as sharp shocks of pleasure rocket through my body, instigated by just one move into me, making them feel ten times more intense when he retreats again.

And if that wasn't good enough, I then feel his hand reach between us and fingers start to stroke at my moistened folds, seeking out my clit and circling it slowly, each thrust of his cock into my ass going deeper, hurting but at the same time literally opening me up to a whole different world of pleasure, since I've never attempted to take something the size of him anally before; and it feels so good I'll give him about a fucking week to stop. My whole body is covered in goosebumps, my skin feeling so sensitive just the touch of his free hand running up and down my one side, and then slapping my ass so hard my eyes water makes me feel like I could cum from just that alone...and then he bites me again, right on the back of my neck...and then kisses it, his mouth moving to the side, tongue flickering at the side of my throat until I turn my head and kiss him, and he kisses me so forcefully I feel the wind almost knocked out of me. His lips then leave mine, kissing the other side of my neck intently while his fingers stop rubbing at my clit and push into my gaping wetness, using them to fuck my pussy hard, matching the rhythm of his cock in my ass, making me so turned on my heart beats dangerously fast, my throat feels dry and sore from so much gasping, panting and moaning, my nipples are overly sensitive from how hard they are and my body is shaking climatically as another orgasm comes ripping up through me.

And once again being given no recovery time other than the seconds it takes him to withdraw, turn me onto my back and hold my legs high and wide apart before slamming into my pussy and fucking me in total wild abandon, looking down and watching me writhing on the end of his beautiful hard cock, my hips pounding against his body as they rise up off the bed to meet each of his thrusts, before he start moving at a pace I cannot keep up with, holding my legs firmly against his chest, fucking me so hard I'm surprised my bed doesn't give way...surprised I don't give way in fact. And for another four hours it's much the same, my body being twisted and turned into more positions than I knew existed, subjected to more orgasms than I ever thought I could withstand, until I'm so sore all over, outside and in, that I'm surprised I can actually can keep going. And keep going we do, for five hours.

'It hurts so much, but it feels too good to stop' I tell him, after he's finished biting down on my lower lip, while I slowly grind up and down on his cock, my arms and legs wrapped around him.

'There's one way to combat that sufficiently, here' he replies, bringing one arm from around me and biting into his wrist, offering me the fresh wound to suck upon which I duly do, taking the few mouthfuls necessary for my soreness to start to heal and become like new again after a few minutes, before pulling away and kissing him, both of his hands around me again holding my body tightly to his, short nails clawing at my back as he groans deeply into my mouth, sucking my tongue, and then my neck, and then my nipples as I bounce up and down on him harder and faster again, rolling my hips into his body fiercely, wanting to make him come again. He's so sexy when he's having an orgasm. And a time later when he finally does, it boils through him so strongly that his deep lust filled growl echo's off the walls, an he bites me three times in quick succession, his fangs finally biting on into my shoulder, but still with him not feeding, retracting and softly kissing the tender spot as his rapidly moving body finally begins to slow after hours of exertion, lying back eventually and taking me with him, his arms still wrapped around me while I pull the covers back over us. I then lie on my side and feel him curl around me behind, but only give me five minutes of rest before he decides that's more than enough.

Rolling over onto his back I lie with my back against his chest, turning my head to kiss him as I feel his hands rubbing my breasts, fingers pinching my nipples before one travels down and begins to rub between my legs, making me part them more, and moan as his finger brushes against my clit. It feels like the first time I'm being touched again too, since drinking his blood has soothed any soreness I've felt, his touch just instigating that heavily aroused ache I feel inside, my inner muscles clenching tightly as I feel myself begin to get wet again, his fingers becoming slippery as they keep rubbing me, his tongue running up and down the side of my neck, lips then kissing me between there and my shoulder while groaning contently. And after his erection nudges my opening a couple of times, he successfully seeks entrance and slides himself as fully in as he can get, and the next two hours are spent like this, me on top of him in some position or another, working on nothing but the pure lust and sexual frenzy between us, until somewhere around 10am we stop again, and I feel very sleepy indeed.

'Finally, I manage to tire you out' he comments, lying behind me with his hands roaming all over my warm nakedness.

'I bet you could still keep going for another five hours though' I comment, running my hand up and down his forearm.

'Well considering I'm still only running on five hours sleep in the last forty or so, then no I probably couldn't. Right now I think I need to rest as much as you do' he replies, kissing my ear and resting his head down on the pillow behind me, his words being the last thing said between us, and his hands soon to come to a stop as exhaustion takes over us both and we finally use the bed for something other than sex. And that's a very, very deep sleep, sleep that lasts until 5.47pm exactly, when I wake up to feel his fingers running up and down the centre of my stomach, between my breasts and back again. Immediately I turn over and kiss his chest as I wake up properly, rubbing my eyes and then opening them and looking up at him, just looking down at me with a slight smile, and then leaning in to kiss me softly.

'Good evening' he says between kisses, fingertips stroking my cheek while his other hand rubs my back softly.

'Evening' I reply with a smile, before being kissed again. I'm starting to like when he's affectionate, like he's being now, just holding me against him and stroking my skin as we kiss. And this is just enough for me too, I'm not a particularly overly affectionate person myself, so the level he's managing at present is just fine with me. But, I can't enjoy it for long before an aching full bladder drives me out bed, and the need to eat something adds to the discomfort too so I quickly go and pee before heading into the kitchen, eating two bananas quickly to pacify my growling stomach, and then head straight back to bed, and the two arms I was enjoying being held in.

'So how long do you think you'll be staying here for?' I ask him.

'Another day at the very most, I have a couple of ideas about what move to make next, ideas I will reveal to both you and Pam in due course' he replies, hands stroking my back once more. As it turns out though, that idea is turned on its head when he receives a phone call about an hour after we've got up, from a vampire by the name of Nan Flanagan, the spokeswoman for the AVL (American Vampire League), and also someone Eric has to answer to for his actions it would seem, being higher in the vampire hierarchy than he is.

'We have to return to Fangtasia, Nan wants to speak with me over the incident with Talbot I guess' he tells Pam as soon as the phone call is over with, before briefly explaining to me who Nan is and then calling a cab before immediately leaving the room to collect the case he brought with him, and then taking me by the elbow and steering me to the kitchen.

'As soon as my meeting with Nan is over I shall call you, could you come to the club so we may speak of what was discussed? I don't like to think I'm encroaching on too much of your time' he asks me, staring down intently at him.

'That's fine, and if you want me to I can stay and bring my laptop with me to do some work, or I'll just come back here, up to you' I reply casually, leaving the decision to him since I don't mind either way.

'Stay then. I know I said two days a week would be enough, but...I may have had second thoughts on that decision' he then tells me, running his fingers through my hair and leaning down to kiss me, a kiss that I know goes on for some time, yet feels like only moments have passed before I can hear Pam clearing her throat.

'Eric, cab's here' she says as we part, him nodding and leaving the kitchen, and her giving me a little wink. 'See you later on darlin' she adds, while I give her a wave and a smile.

'Later Pam' I reply, watching them take their possessions and then leave, the house feeling oddly quiet without them here. And after half an hour, I bet to feel odd that Eric isn't here in particular, and very glad that he's invited me to stay over tonight too. I don't know, but perhaps whatever I am, his blood has the same effect on me as mine does on him. Because after drinking his last night, I definitely feel inexplicably closer and more drawn to him. But the difference is, he's not fully sure if he likes it or not; and I definitely know I do.

**Authors note - A BIG THANK YOU to Miss black'n'burgundy and Miss treewitch703, my two most frequent reviewers for your regular reviews after each chapter, you know how to make this gal smile :D what's happened to the rest of you? You've all gone quiet on me lol! Well a little update on the writing part, I'm up to chapter 35 and still no where near the end so I think this fic is set to be a long one! I hope you'll all continue to stick with it :) xxx**


	20. Chapter 20

**WARNING! Chapter contains scenes of a sexual nature. If such material offends then please do not continue to read! Also, there is dialogue used in the chapter that is taken directly from True Blood season 3, and remains the property of the show's writers, I do not take credit for those parts in the narrative!**

Eric's POV.

'So what she say when she called you?' Pam asks me as the cab speeds through the darkness.

'Basically to get my ass back to Fangtasia pronto. I guess we'll just have to wait as to what she's going to do when I get there' I reply, looking out of the window blankly. And when we do arrive at the club, we find out immediately the exact nature of her visit, heading in through the back entrance and walking out into the main part of the club to see her waiting for me.

'I'm sorry Miss Flanagan, the bar is closed' I tell her sarcastically upon my entrance, which is the truth. We don't open for another fifteen minutes.

'Thank you but I already ate, True blood only of course. You can't seem to stay out of trouble, can you? The VRA is two states away from ratification, I should be kissing asses in Oregon, not cleaning up after you in fucking Louisiana!' she replies with scorn, surrounded by an AVL swat team as she walks closer towards me.

'Oh I promise, there is noting amiss in my area' I begin before she interrupts.

'Shut up, you're making my head hurt. Officers, silver him' she then says, and I wait as I heard footsteps behind me, then the sudden, and scorching hot pain of silver burning into my shoulder as I drop to the ground in agony.

As it turns out, Miss Flanagan visited here tonight to investigate me over the disappearance of the magister, having every inch of my property inspected before coming back up into the club to tell me even though she found nothing, that she had her suspicions. I was then made to give a statement to the authorities via a webcam link. Except what I told them was not exactly what I think they were expected. I told them everything, or rather everything they needed to know, about trailing Edgington for so many years, about his werewolves, the bloodthirsty V addicts who have remained loyal to him for centuries, and how he doesn't exactly take kindly to people standing in his way, using the magister and queen Sophie Anne as examples. And then, I informed them of exactly what Edgington and his wolves had done to my family, and that the reason I did not report him for his crimes before was that I wanted him to die via my own hand. And that was as much as I could say in my defence, before Pam and I were put on lockdown, instructed to keep the club closed and of course, not allowed to set foot out of here until word is given. And so just after she leaves, leaving four of her guards behind to make sure neither Pam nor I try to leave, I quickly send a text message to Tyra, explaining that I will talk to her as soon as possible and that she should stay home tonight. I'm not even sure the guards would let her in for a start, and secondly as I told her and Pam last night, for appearances she's just another member of staff, just the bookkeeper, and not linked to or involved with me for any other reason. Not that I'm sure exactly what she is to me, other than the obvious with her being my last living descendant, and I must protect her for that reason alone before any other, it is my duty to. I want to keep Tyra as far away from all this as I can, because if Edgington even so much as suspects she's linked to me in any way, she's dead. I kept that bluntness from her yesterday, but it is the honest truth, he'd slay her in return for my staking of his lover and progeny, so she needs to be held at more than arms length right now, with the AVL investigating me so closely.

But it does turn out that the wait until I can resume life as normal is just twenty four hours, when Nan Flanagan returns at 8pm the following evening, to tell me that basically I have the go ahead to rid the world of Russell Edgington, and to do it quietly and off the books with only my own resources, since last night my actions it would seem made him have somewhat of a meltdown and execute a newscaster live on air, proclaiming to the whole of America his to be the true face of vampirism, and the AVI basically being liars for preaching anything to the contrary. It's something that my mind immediately begins to turn over while I go about two necessary tasks; feeding and then asking Tyra if she can reschedule her visit to tonight since for obvious reasons she had to be absent from me yesterday evening. I am still adamant that I will not feed from her until I fully know and understand what she is; to form a blood bond with another supernatural creature for vampires is, for the most part, for the rest of their existence. And this is something that will take careful consideration, regardless of our already existing blood link through ancestry, regardless of any other facet of her that I might find appealing. I just do not know if it is something I'm capable of, regardless of the biggest thing of all. The fact that each time I've drank of her, and each time I've engaged in intercourse with her, I've felt myself pulled further and further in, and wanting and able to be more affectionate with her than I have been with a woman since Ida. And furthermore, I do not like it when she isn't around; not one bit.

So it is with somewhat relief when she sends me a message telling me she wants to finish some more work, and will be here at some time around midnight if she does come at all. This is something else I like about her, she's independent of me completely; I cannot click my fingers and watch her instantly come running to me. She refuses me, she does things in her own time, she tells me no, she stands up to me, and she challenges me. I've never met anyone like her, even the most brutal female woman I ever met, Elizabeth Bathory whom I was only discussing with Tyra the other night, had a touch of neediness to her. She'd obey my every command; do anything I wanted her to do. Tyra shows me one thing that not many women ever have; restraint, and very steely self composure. I cannot manipulate her, and as a result of that I find myself less inclined to do so too. As I said to Pam a long time ago, I have respect for her because of this above all. To me, she is the very essence of what a woman should be; strong, beautiful, clever and still elusive to me in a way as well. It's also the fact that at first, she wasn't interested in me in the slightest. Women who openly pursue vampires have an air of desperation about them that just doesn't exist with Tyra at all. I enjoyed the challenge of being the one to pursue her, very much so. And then, completely separately from anything else, is her energy, such consuming, beautiful energy that I find myself looking forward to feeling it more and more.

Since we decided business should resume as normal, the club is open and in usual full swing for a Saturday night when I know Tyra has arrived. Sitting in my usual place I can feel her closeness, and watch the door until I finally see her walk through it, heading over to the bar first and having Deborah make a beeline for her immediately, talking to her briefly for a few moments before pouring her a glass of red wine (on the house of course, as long as they do not abuse the privilege all Fangtasia employees drink for free) and then moving on to the next customer waiting while Tyra continues to walk through the club, indicating to me with a finger she'll just be a minute, before vanishing down to the office, and returning without her bag and jacket a few moments later, approaching me while a small smile.

'You haven't rested have you?' are her first words to me, over the pounding of the music currently playing, some brand of newer metal my ears are not accustomed to or particularly favouring.

'Your observation is correct, but I am in no mood to be berated over it' I reply dryly, not able to help myself.

'I wasn't about to Eric, chill' she replies, taking a sip of her wine. 'You know I'm the last person who'll ever become a nag to you. When you sleep and when you don't is your business, so if you'd rather I wont show any concern about it in future. Fine by me' she finishes, in just as much of a dry tone as I just used. And all I can do to that is smile and laugh softly behind my hand and then pull her down onto my lap.

'Will you promise me one thing' I say to her, once she's sat comfortably.

'Depends on what you're asking for' she replies quickly.

'Never change' I reply, stroking one fingertip down her jaw line.

'Not for you, and not for anyone else either' she informs me, holding my gaze before she suddenly gets up again and walks back through the club over to the exit, no doubt to see Pam, leaving me laughing again behind my hand.

'Please, don't become like the rest. You're the most fascinating creature I've met in a thousand years' I mutter to myself as I watch her walk away, feeling myself grow aroused by that beautiful feline glide she has, the way she swings her hips when she walks. She's ensuring with every step she takes that she's not going to be spending a lot of time out there talking to Pam, that's for sure, not with how devastating she looks this evening.

Tyra's POV.

After going to have a brief chat with Pam, I head back into the club and set my empty glass down on the bar, noticing Eric is absent from the seat I left him in, and then heading down to the office to collect my bag and then venturing down another floor, where the door is open for me when I arrive down at the entrance to Eric's apartment. I find him reclining on the couch, so after dropping my bag down to the side of the bed I walk over to him and watch him open his eyes, and then reach out and take my waist in his hands, and then pull me down until I'm sat astride him.

'So, what did Nan Flanagan have to say then? And was it about Talbot's death? The reason she visited?' I ask him as he strokes my arms.

'No, not at all in fact, she visited me to question me over the magister and his disappearance' he replies, before telling me how the bar was searched looking for evidence, how he had to give a statement and went on to inform Nan and the AVL authorities of what Russell had been up to, what he had done a thousand years earlier to his (and my very, very distant) family, before being given the go ahead to kill him without any backing or help by the AVL, that they just want him deal with and out of the picture as the race for vampires to be voted into equal rights or not all over the country escalates. I can see how Russell Edgington would be extremely bad PR at the moment, especially if he plans on tearing out any more spines of newscasters any time soon.

'Do you know how you're going to kill him yet? Did they give you a deadline for you to hand in his fangs as it were?'I ask him, after absorbing the information he's given me.

'I'd rather not discuss it right at this moment if you wouldn't mind. Right now, I'd rather you take my mind off it for a time' he replies, giving me a look that leaves no mistake of his intentions.

'Well, you've defining in the right place for that' I reply, taking him by the wrists and moving his hands, putting them right on my breasts and watching a smile start to curl one side of his mouth, his hands squeezing them gently before one slides around under my top, and unclips my bra with one very careful and quick flick of his fingers, his other hand seeking entrance under the fabric too, pinching my nipples as I lean down and kiss him, breaking that kiss momentarily to sit up again and pull my top and bra off, him moving quicker than my eyes see to immediately cover my bare breasts with kisses and swirls of his tongue, fangs prickling them slightly too, adding to the gentle hum of pleasure that starts to run through me from his touch.

'Don't get too comfortable with those in your mouth' I purr seductively, wriggling free from his grasp and sliding down until my knees hit the floor, my hands undoing the front of his tight black jeans, while I keep eye contact with him and bite his inner thigh hard, making him close his eyes and groan a little, those beautiful steel blue eyes snapping back open again when I've freed his rock hard dick from inside his jeans, watching me intently as I take him in my mouth and start to ease it down his shaft slowly, my tongue swirling around the big, thick head that feels so criminally good upon entry; in whatever hole of my body it happens to be sliding into. And right now, it feels very, very good at it slides into my mouth and reaches my throat, while I tense the muscles there to prevent me from gagging on him, pressing my tongue into the big vein that engorges the under side of the thick shaft, and moving my mouth slowly back up again while making my lips tighter around him, feeling all the other veins starting to flood with blood and make him harder in my mouth, that gorgeous primal growl escaping his mouth as once again my tongue circles slowly, then quickly over the very tip of him, before once again, my mouth sinks down. And so I continue to do this, gradually quickening my pace until I switch to using my hand too, and concentrating my mouth on the head of his dick, where I know he likes being touched the most. And while I do this, my free hand reaches down and undoes my own jeans, popping the button open and then undoing the zip before I slide it in, moaning lightly when I feel how wet just blowing him has made me, and rubbing my clit from side to side while sucking right on the end of his dick, hard.

'And where has your other hand suddenly disappeared to?' he asks me. He knows full well what I'm doing, but I play along all the same, taking my hand back out of my jeans and reaching up to slide a finger into his mouth.

'You can one finger rather than one guess' I say, feeling his tongue press against the underside of it as he tastes me, smiling wickedly at me once I pull my finger from his mouth, and then slide it down his chest before taking his erection back between my lips, and plunging my mouth down until every inch of it disappears into my throat, and my other hands once again begins to rub the wetness between my legs, relishing the thought that what's in my mouth will be in my pussy for many hours this morning. A lover with a thousand years worth of experience, surely that's what every girl wants right? It's definitely what I want above anything else right now, but what else I want right now is just to please him; he spends a hell of a lot of time dedicated to my pleasure, and he should receive the same treatment. Which is why I spend well over an hour giving him a blow job, until finally I feel his excitement start to peak, his orgasm signalled by his chest rising and falling quickly, a deep groan rumbling up from his chest, and a cold jet of cum spurting out into my mouth, that very nicely and surprisingly tastes of absolutely nothing at all, except blood a little bit. I guess it wouldn't really, since he is dead and all, and also since semen flavour is quite strongly dependant on what kind of diet the man has. And his is blood, which would explain the mind coppery tint of that left in my mouth as I lift the black vest he's wearing, and kiss my way back up his body, pulling it off him as he lifts his arms and then sitting astride him again as we begin to kiss passionately.

Before I know it he's grabbed me tightly around the waist and moved with me, shedding the rest of his clothes after he drops me down on the bed and then rapidly does the same to me, pulling my legs open wide as he kneels in front of me, his gorgeous rippling physique nicely lit from the slight glow of the candles over in the far corner, shading it in all the muscle creases beautifully, making him look like a work of art as he takes one of my legs and begins stroking it with both hands, kissing it at the ankle at first, before slowly working his way down, and making me say a silent prayer of thanks that I had the foresight to actually make sure I'm clean shaven. It takes a day for any re growth to become long enough, and then that's it; I'm bald from the eyebrows down again. And speaking of a place that's included in that mass hair removal regime, his mouth just hit it, and already the soft beat of his tongue against my clit is enough to make me want to practically howl in total abandon, how incredible it feels. Like I said before, a thousand years experience makes for the kind of man (well, vampire) anyone would want; they know exactly how to touch you for one thing, sense the way your body reacts to touch, and remember it exactly. You knowhow no matter how good the man you're in bed is, there's something about your own touch that'll get you off the quickest, because only you really know your own body that way? His touch feels even better, even more precise than that; like he knows things I don't. Which he probably does to be fair to him; going back to the fact he's a thousand and thirty years old.

'AHHHHHHH FUCK! MMMMMM' I scream loudly, the feeling of him suddenly sucking on my clit hard, coupled by the invasion on two thick fingers deep into my pussy making me come instantly, a series of small, quieter moans leaving my mouth as my body wriggles in ecstasy on the bed, his fingers and mouth slowing and easing up on the pressure a little but not stopping, continuing to keep me firmly up in the dizzying heights of cloud nine. Actually, make that cloud nine hundred; yeah, that good. The gentle caress of his tongue, and the fast and hard motion of his fingers inside my hot wetness have me moaning so loudly it wouldn't surprise me if people in the bar could hear me right now, but holy shit, this is just phenomenal.

'Sorry, but there'll be no elongated oral performances from me tonight, I just want to fuck' he tells me suddenly, sitting up, pulling my legs up over his shoulders, and plunging his dick into me hard, making any other noise I've made in total abandon tonight just be eclipsed by the loudness of the screams, groans and cries I let out as he fucks me mercilessly, driving me headlong into orgasm, after orgasm, after orgasm. By five in the morning I'm tired, sore, and over exhausted, but very content.

'Something I meant to ask you a while ago, that I noticed to be strange. You breathe when you're having sex, why?' I ask him, feeling him stroking my hair as I lie against his chest.

'It's just my body remembering, vampires do often start to breathe in moments of exertion. I've often thought it to be quite the strange thing too' he replies.

'I don't think it's strange. I like it actually' I reply, my finger beginning to draw a small circle on the centre of his chest.

'Why? Does it remind you of being with a human?' he asks me, making me move and look down questioningly at him.

'If I wanted to be with a human that's what I'd be with, so now I'm getting accustomed to a vampire, don't rock the boat' I tell him, watching him frown.

'It was a legitimate question, not an offhand remark' he replies earnestly, making me feel a little bad. Sometimes I really can't tell with him though.

'We're much too quick to snap at each other, aren't we?' I then tell him, after a few moments of contemplative silence, where I noted this is just one of many instances between us.

'Yes we are, but at least it doesn't get boring that way. Now, lie down and be quiet you battleaxe' he tells me, putting his arm around my neck and pulling me back down until my head is resting against his chest once more.

'I will not be quiet, because I want you to know one thing for sure. I accept you for whom and what you are, a vampire. I don't want to change you, nor do I long for you to be any more human in demeanour either. Not in life, or in bed. Just so you know' I tell him, my finger continuing to draw its circle over his cool skin.

'I know, it's one of the things that attracts me to you the most' he replies, before kissing my forehead and then turning over onto his side, untangling himself from me and moving from the bed for three seconds, the candles suddenly being extinguished and the apartment door clicking locked before he's back next to me, and I'm comfortably wrapped in his arms and soft bed covers, dozing immediately, and asleep within minutes. There's something about him being there next to me, it makes me fall asleep literally within minutes. Not that I've ever had trouble sleeping in the past, but his presence has something very soothing about it. Considering for the most part, he's six foot five inches of moody vampire that's quite a feat really. And also, because he doesn't move or breathe I'm not subjected to any snoring or fidgeting around next to me as I sleep; he's just still and silent. And down here it's so quiet and dark that I always sleep soundly, like I do tonight, not waking until midday, and after dressing and gathering my things I slip out quietly, head up to the club and take the key to the bar from its usual place behind the cash register and then let myself out and lock up behind me, the bright sun hitting my arms and warming them nicely as I walk across the parking lot to my car and click the locks open with the fob. I always wanted an Alfa Romeo, so last year I decided to spoil myself and trade in my old BMW for the 147 twin spark model in candy apple red. I love it. It's not as fast as Eric's Jag (a brand new XK8, apparently he's never kept a car for longer than twelve months either) but it's fast enough with it's 2.0 litre engine, and gets me back to Bon Temps quickly enough too, stopping to get some takeout food on my way home and quickly heading for a shower before I sit down to eat it upon my return.

From here on in I slip nicely back into my usual routine, visiting Lafayette later on in the evening, and then getting a rare early night before an early Monday morning start, spending most of the morning driving around dropping off accounts here and there, working for a couple of other vampire customers at their establishments, meeting Dmitri for lunch, and then heading home at 2pm to work until midnight, take a long bath and then head to bed. And even though it is nice to have my bed all to myself, I have to say I do miss that big blonde dead fella that shares it with me sometimes. But, and in definitely going back on his 'two nights a week' idea, come 4am in the early hours of Wednesday morning I miss him no longer, when he comes flying in through my window unexpectedly, undressed quietly and then climbs into bed with me.

'And what can I do for you?' I ask him as I feel his weight dip the mattress behind and his arm reach around me to rest his hand on my stomach, his coolness pressing against my warmth under the covers.

'Go back to sleep' is all he replies, and after turning to look at him for a few moments, and then giving him a kiss, I decide for once I'll do as I'm told. There'll be no snapping at each other this morning, just sleeping.

**Authors note - Once again, and as always thank you for reading and reviewing :) x**


	21. Chapter 21

**WARNING - Chapter contains scenes of a sexual nature!**

Tyra's POV.

'And finally, for the first time in half an hour she gets the bull's eye. Tell me, you stole all those trophies in the house didn't you? Because so far you're performance has, to use a term from your generation, really sucked'. Yep, that's Eric, whose currently stood up in the tree my archery target hangs from nearby my house in the forest, where I've been firing arrows for the past hour, being joined by Eric about half an hour ago when the sun went down.

'Yes, I did. Finally someone saw through my ruse at being an accomplished archer' I reply. I have about twenty trophies from archery tournaments I competed in as a kid and teenager all on display in my office, which is strange really since it was my work (or rather the college course I took in order to do accountancy as a living) that forced me to stop competing. I still make the time for it though, but just me and my longbow out here in the woods instead of a proper centre. There isn't one locally anyway. And well, who's a better eye to oversee it than an actual Viking? I don't need a tutor when I have him and his unhelpful and sarcastic comments for the most part. I can do better than most people, since I have night vision and all though, which could be classed as an unfair advantage, but then again I'm not competing any longer, so there's no one to have an advantage over. But in saying that, if Eric keeps winding me up I might accidentally on purpose miss by about three feet and hit him right in the dick. Yeah, it'll only hurt him for a few seconds, but at least in those few seconds he won't be making smart remarks. The last one was pretty tame for some of the things he's been coming out with.

'Absolutely fucking terrible' he comments after the next shot only gets me to the second circle around the red bull's eye as he swings down from the branch he's perched on, yanks out the arrow carefully and then throws it back to my side. Yep, he needs no assistance of a bow to fling arrows across forty feet of forest. Try saying that after a couple of glasses of hooch.

'Heaven help you if I ever decide to treat myself to a set of arrows with silver spears, and then decide to miss the target and go for another one instead' I reply, pulling a fresh arrow back in the bow and aiming it right at his head.

'If we're playing William Tell, you at least have to give me the good grace to fetch an apple first' he replies simply.

'Why? The frown line I can see right across your forehead is such a clear marker' I reply, pointing the arrow back at the target again, tensing the bow further as I pull it back an inch more, and then letting go. Bull's eye, and that's where I'm calling it quits for tonight, especially since I sense Eric's interest beginning to wan a little too. It doesn't take much for him to get bored, so I make sure my next move tonight definitely captivates his interest; turning myself into a target of sorts, for his eyes.

'And just what are you doing now?' he asks me as I pull off my boots and socks, and then my top, casting them down onto a patch of grass at the side of the lake.

'Getting naked, what does it look like?' I reply with a smile as I push my jeans down my legs, and then my thong and bra are next to be removed until I'm standing there totally nude, and within a blink of an eye Eric is out of the tree and standing right in front of me, looking at me with much interest as I step back, and then turn to dive into the lake. We're up at the deepest part which is at least eight or nine feet in depth, so it's safe to dive from up here. And the May warmth has warmed the water up a touch too, since it's been very sunny for most of the week. Summer is definitely approaching fast. And then I break the surface of the water again, I can't see Eric. But when I turn around I can.

'Boo' he says to me, in a tone barely loud enough to even be classified as a whisper, putting his arms around me and pulling me close before leaning in to kiss me. I like the fact he isn't publicly affectionate with me, but when it's just me and him he's very much into kissing. And since this is a public place of sorts, but with no people around, I can't think of a better way to spend the evening. For now at least, being pushed back towards the bank and then pinned against it, his hand shooting between my legs quickly while his other gropes my breast, his mouth leaving mine to bury itself against my neck, while I run my nails down his back firmly and groan as his fingers work me wet through the water, and then I feel them retreat to allow entrance of his cock. He thrusts into my pussy deeply and slowly withdraws again, repeating the action as I feel the familiar stretch and burning sensation of accommodating such size. His fingers run through my wet hair and his tongue pushes its way into my mouth as our lips collide in a heated kiss, his hands running down my back and locking firmly onto my ass as he bites my bottom lip, panting and moaning heavily as I roll my hips up to meet each thrust, feeling a tight current of arousal pulsate throughout my whole body as I suck his tongue and run her hands over his shoulders, completely lost in him.

His mouth moves from mine and kisses my neck over and over, our bodies both rocking together in a hotter than hot embrace, the water beginning to splash around us as the pace gets faster, my pussy tightening on him so forcefully he has to slam into me even harder just to get past the solid slick muscles. The harder penetration makes me begin to moan loudly, throwing my head back and feeling his teeth gently nip at my neck and collarbones as his big cock fucks me deep, the swollen head pressing into my g spot as his hand reaches around and starts to pinch at my clit as I lay back over bank of the lake and start to pant and shake, a helpless cry emanating from my mouth as I feel a wave of heat pulse out of my pussy as I come, leaning forward again and locking my arms around his neck as I grind myself against him, his mouth finding my breasts and licking them in turn as he groans. God help anyone taking a leisurely stroll through the forest if they come by here any time soon, because I'm not about to stop on their account. Oh no, I'm not stopping this impromptu, hot, fast, hard sex session in the lake with one hell of a gorgeous vampire; they can just keep on walking. And to think, all I'd legitimately intended was a quick swim.

'You still have mud in your hair' Eric comments a time later, way later in fact, back at his place as we lie in the bath together. My tub isn't big enough for me and someone of his size too, but his sure as hell is. And, it means I have less distance to come to work tomorrow, just a flight of stairs.

'Your fault' I'm quick to reply, taking the few strands he's been examining from him and rinsing them in the water below me, figuring I'll shampoo it later.

'And I suppose the scratches you got on your shoulders from those thorns on the bank are my fault too?' he then asks in his usual dry way.

'Yes, but I enjoyed those more than I enjoy mud in my hair' I point out.

'I have noticed you seem to get off on pain to a degree. And wondering exactly how far I can push you with it too' he then replies casually, like he could be talking about something as innocent as the weather.

'What, other than biting me, scratching me, fucking me so hard I've actually bled, giving me anal for over an hour, yanking my hair so hard I think it's going to get torn clean out of my scalp and throwing me around in the usual way you do?' I reply sarcastically, knowing it's made him smile and turning to see one of sorts fixed in place. Well, it's more of an evil smirk than anything else.

'Yes, other than that' he replies, giving me a look that says 'you know I'm capable of a lot more'. Yes, I know he is. But I'm in no rush on this voyage of discovery with the powerful creature whose arms I'm in right now. I'll take it as it comes, pun intended.

'So, basically is this you enquiring as to what exactly my limit is? And what it is exactly that I get off on' I ask him.

'If you like' he tells me.

'Being cut for one thing, so thus explains why I love it when you bite me, the skin being broken etc. You've probably noticed I have a couple of thin scars over my collarbones and shoulders, I only ever had one boyfriend who was comfortable with extreme stuff like that and he used to cut me with sharp razorblades so it'd scar less, and AEA I enjoy too, giving and receiving. But since you don't breathe it'd be pointless to try it on you. Then obviously you know I like it rough and nasty in all other respects, that doesn't take a genius to work out, and I like being watched, but once again there's only been a couple of guys in my life that have been cool with that. I don't like being tied up, I like using my hands too much as we've discussed before, but pain is something enticing to me, always has been. Eric, stop smirking' I then reply as I turn and catch him doing it, then frown and smile as his face returns to blank within a nanosecond.

'No, I'd never tie you up, I definitely like it when you use your hands too' he replies with a slight eyebrow raise, more of a twitch than anything. Yes, I've definitely noticed he does, especially when I'm in the grips of an orgasm and my nails are shredding through the skin on either his back or chest, healing again almost instantly though as is the case with vampires. He'd have deep scars from me by now if he was a human.

'And you liked everything I just told you, didn't you?' I ask him, turning over in his arms and kissing his damp chest where it's risen out of the water.

'Mm' Is all he replies, and when I look at him I can just tell his mind is turning a mile a minute, and then just lie there and decide not to ask, put to patiently await whatever that filthy mind of his is thinking up. Apart from that though, I can't help but realize he does seem a little quiet (even for him) tonight, and very much contemplative too. But then again, with the whole Russell Edgington issue I would be too. I just hope I can take his mind off it at least a little bit.

'Please excuse my quietness tonight, but as you understand I do have a lot to contemplate at present' he tells me, about an hour after we've left the warmth of the bathtub, and instead are sitting on the couch together, Eric looking and behaving a lot more distantly than he has been this evening. I've been sitting finishing my Elizabeth Bathory biography since he's been giving me the silent treatment more or less for the last hour.

'Of course I understand, you've no need to explain yourself to me and you know this' I reply, watching him nod and then get up.

'Then you won't mind if I excuse myself for a time, there's something important that I must do. Obviously I shall return before sunrise' he tells me, bending down to kiss my forehead, and then leaving at speed, the door closing behind him before I can even register he's left.

'Be careful Eric' I whisper in his wake, before letting out a long sigh. Of course he can handle himself, I mean he's a 1,030 year old vampire with strength you and I couldn't even begin to imagine, and a razor sharp mind to boot, but still, I cannot help but feel just a little worried right now. Russell Edgington is twice his age, twice his power, and he has to take him out alone. I know it's a challenge he's more than up to, but still, I still feel like something big is brewing up, bubbling in the waters and ready to break the surface. And when it does, it won't be pretty by far. And so at just before 1am I pack myself off to bed alone, and for the first time since my mom died, I just cannot fall asleep. Something feels wrong, being in his bed without him here too. I don't like it at all; the space next to me that his beautifully chiselled body would fill seems even vaster. But I guess it isn't enough to stop me from dropping off eventually, as when he returns his presence in the bed again wakes me up instantly.

'What time is it?' I ask him sleepily, turning over and rubbing my eyes open.

'2am, go back to sleep' he replies, pulling me close to him and stroking me like he always does, his hand sweeping slowly up and down my back, his other gently stroking the side of my face. It's a strange juxtapose, his tenderness when his reply to me was in a very, very steely tone of voice. And immediately I know there's something wrong, even through my half asleep haze.

'Eric, what's wrong? And please don't fob me off with anything but the truth; I can feel it, sense it. You're not okay' I reply as I look up at him.

'I will be, come morning all of this will be over. And most importantly, you'll be safe and no longer at threat from Russell Edgington' he replies blankly.

'What do you mean? I thought you said he couldn't trace me to you? We destroyed all evidence of a link between us' I ask him, wanting to know what he means, and what he's planning.

'Godric specifically told me in a letter that I must keep what you are from Russell Edgington at all costs, I didn't tell you that before because what you'd already learned at the time was enough. But I can tell you know, even though we do not know what you are, you're worth something of great value to him this much is obvious, and as long as he walks the earth you shall not be safe. But come the morning you will be, because if there's one thing I know I'm capable of doing, it's looking after my family. No matter how distant they may be, he will not hurt you, because I will not let him. Now please, go to sleep my beauty' he replies, kissing my head. My beauty; that's the first time he's ever called me by an affectionate name in the way lovers do, and referred to me as 'his' too. But even hearing that, a verbal commitment of sorts that he considers me to be his lady, isn't enough to stop me from worrying or feeling that somehow, something isn't right. And it's confirmed to me when I wake up again at 3am and he's gone again, and when I slip into my underwear and the pair of jeans I was wearing last night and try to head out to find him I can't, because he's locked me in. Okay, this is getting stranger by the minute, especially when I try to call him and he cuts off the calls after a few rings, and then when I try again his cell is turned off, Pam's too when I try to contact her. What the hell is going on here?

Eric's POV.

Everything has fallen into place, just as I wanted it to. This evening after taking off at around midnight and leaving Tyra at my apartment, I left to meet Russell Edgington at a local museum, to offer him something I knew he couldn't refuse. We threw trades back and forth for a while, me letting him know his beloved Talbot's death was the revenge for the slaughter of my family, and he in turn basically accusing me of being nothing more than 'a lump of muscle with a blood grudge' as he worded it, and other such insults and snide comments before he actually did what was good for him, and shut his mouth and listened to me when I told him I could give him the one thing he wanted; daylight. Or rather, the blood source which would make it possible for him to see the sun again after nearly three thousand years; Sookie Stackhouse, since being a fairy/human hybrid and having blood that allegedly enables day walking (even though Bill Compton confided in me that it only worked for a few minutes before it wore off), Edgington of course will not know that. Not until it's too late of course.

But just before I was due to leave the museum with him, I received a call from Pam to tell me that the aforementioned pain in the ass, lesser vampire that is Bill Compton managed to overpower her, and free Sookie from the confides of the basement where I had locked her in the previous morning before heading to Tyra's home. And so, to remove that small spanner in the works an ambush was needed, with Russell and I literally stopping their car in its tracks before taking them both hostage again, and back to Fangtasia. Which leads me up until this moment in time right now, 4.15am, and not long before the sun begins to rise now the earlier morning sunrises are upon us at 4.30am. Not long now, not long until the curse, the scourge, the vile sack of festering blood that is Russell Edgington will be gone from this earth...

'Fairies? You seriously expect me to believe she's fairy, a species extinct for millennia, if they ever existed at all? Do you think I wouldn't have noticed if there were fairies bouncing around in the world?' Russell begins, after I've explained to him the power of Sookie's blood.

'I didn't say she was full fairy, she's a human/fairy hybrid which helped save her from detection. She may well be the last of her kind; your only chance to walk in the sunlight' I tell him, trying to further entice him with the information that is not strictly true. But like I say, he will not find that out until it's too late.

'Yeah, yeah, yeah' he says dryly in disbelief.

'Drink her blood, you'll see' I tell him.

'Now that's just nuts, there's nothing in my blood that's a supernatural sunscreen for y'all, why would you even think that?' Sookie interjects with, somewhat aghast.

'Sookie you are wrong, what Eric says is true' Bill then replies to her with.

'No!' she replies vehemently.

'Bill experienced it for himself' I then reply, while Russell seems to be more swayed by this notion, and then the couple begin bickering between each other until Russell once more interjects to say he wants to see the proof of this, and know it for himself, but only if I go first. It's about this time that my phone begins to ring, and I see Tyra's name flashing across the display, so cut the call, and do the same thing when she tries again, wondering no doubt why I've locked her in the apartment downstairs. I switch my cell off and figure this is as much of a good time as any to do what I have to do before I take care of Russell; go and say my goodbyes to all I have left of my family. He got the rest of them; he will not get her too. My only regret in all this is that I'll die without knowing what she is, but at least as my true death consumes me, I'll die knowing one thing for sure, Russell cannot hurt her.

'If you will excuse me' I say to the room, not anyone in particular and then move at speed until I'm back downstairs and turning the key in my apartment door, a half dressed Tyra sitting in the middle of the bed, her head snapping up immediately as I walk in and towards her.

'Eric what the fuck is going on?' she asks me, sounding a little less calm and composed than usual.

'All you need to know is that in fifteen minutes or so, Russell Edgington will no longer be a threat to you, or anybody else in this world. You'll be safe, but I'm afraid you'll be alone again. My only choice is to trick him Tyra, I've convinced him thus far that Sookie's blood is powerful enough to let him see daylight, and so to prove it to him I have to walk into it too, except I won't be walking out of it again and neither will he. Needless to say her blood only works as a deterrent to the sun for so long, but he won't know that until he's chained to me in the parking lot and there's nowhere he can go other than to meet his true death. I hope you understand, there's no other way I can do this other than to sacrifice myself' I explain to her, watching her frowning at me, and her eyes plead not to do this, her energy changing straight away, making me feel what she really feels inside.

'Eric no, you're worth a thousand of him! No, you cannot do this, it can't end like this, there has to be another way to defeat him' she tells me urgently, her fingers starting to grip onto my arms, and her energy now pouring into me, telling me one thing. 'Please, don't leave me'. It's the only time I've ever felt neediness come from her, and even though she's too much of a proud woman to show it in her words, her energy tells me loud and clear how much she doesn't want me to go. And the strength of that energy just keeps escalating, so much so that I know I have to leave her now, or I won't. As incredible as that sounds, that is just how strong her energy is at the moment; I've never felt anything like it.

'There's no other way. I'm sorry, so sorry to leave you alone again, but just know I did this, not entirely, but at least a big part of it, for you. Find a human man Tyra, put all those thoughts of not wanting to be a mother away and procreate, don't let our line die with you' are my final words to her, before taking her face in my hands, giving her one last, lingering kiss, and staring at her for a moment before closing my eyes and leaving, locking her in again as I can hear her shouting my name from the other side of the door, while I use all my memory to ingrain her face into mind. I want such beauty to be the last thing I'm reminded of before I die and the last taste on my lips to be her. I do not want to part with her, but I know I have to. Especially after feeling how strong her energy grew, and especially now as every step I take away from her makes me feel uncomfortable, an actual pain starting to form inside that my vampirism will not cure, will not blanket, will not take away. I thought the wrench of leaving my darling Pamela would be the hardest, but shockingly even to me, it doesn't match what I can feel flowing through me now, everything inside me turning against my own decision, my own voice repeating in my head like a mantra 'you cannot leave her, you cannot leave her'. Yet I must.

**Authors note - So how did you all like that chapter then? Would still love to hear feedback on the story, I like to know what you like and what you don't, I feel it helps me grow as a writer to have regular feedback from their audience :) x**


	22. Chapter 22

Tyra's POV.

Okay so I just decided something, this isn't going to happen. He's not going to forsake his own existence like this, and blink out the last thousand years like they or him mean nothing, not if I have anything to do with it. But in saying that, there isn't an awful lot I can do about it behind a locked door which is why I'm currently running around his apartment looking for anything sharp to try and pick the lock.

'GODDAMN YOU FOR BEING SO UNTYPICALLY MALE AND NEAT ERIC NORTHMAN!' I roar in frustration as I try desperately to find something sharp in this impeccably tidy homestead.

'No stupid, what the hell are you thinking? There's no knives to be found in a kitchen that's never used!' I then scold myself with after I run to the kitchen area (that obviously isn't and never has been in use) to check the draws for knives, and then remembering quickly before I hurtle off to fling open more draws and throw stuff out, until finally I find a letter opener that will do just the job...if only it was narrow enough at the tip to fit into the lock. It's too big by the tiniest of fractions.

'FUCK!' I curse, throwing it down in total tantrum and grabbing my phone from my pocket again, trying Pam and finding her cell to still be off and then cursing the fact that the one person who is here and I know would let me out is the one person I don't have a contact for; Sookie. But, I know who does.

'Honey child this better be important or the next time I see you I'm drowning you in the damn lake!' Lafayette exclaims loudly when he answers on the ninth ring.

'Lafayette this is life and death important, I don't have time to explain, I just need you to text me Sookie's cell number, please do it now, I'm counting on you' I reply before I hang up, and then pace the floor until my cell beeps and I see he's texted me the contact 'Sook Cell' which I call straight away.

'Whoever this is, y'all have caught me at the worst time yo...' is all she gets chance to say when she answers.

'Sookie its Tyra, Eric's locked me in his apartment under the club, you have to come and let me out! Take the back staircase to the basement and then the stairs over the other side' I shout as quickly as I can.

'Hang on hon, I'll be right there' is all she answers before the line goes dead. Eric walked out of here fifteen minutes ago, and I know by now at 4.50am the sun will be up now, ready to burn him away...I just hope I can get to him in time. And then the noise I've been waiting to hear, the key in the lock turning and then the door opening to reveal Sookie, looking confused.

'What the hell are you doing down here? What is this? Imprison the blondes' week here at Fangtasia or something?' she asks me as I bolt through the door, feeling her running along after me.

'I'll explain all at a more convenient time, right now I have to go and haul a certain brave but stupid Vikings' ass back inside' I reply, adding 'oh and thank you for letting me out' as we tear up the back staircase.

'No worries, and believe me I'm all for your plan by the way' she adds, as I push the doors open and we both run out across the club, Bill watching us but Pam staring at the security monitor, blood tears streaming down her face and sobbing as she watches the sight of Eric and Russell both burning out on the asphalt. She won't be sad for long, because there's no way in hell I'm letting Eric literally chain himself to this fate.

'Don't cry, I'm getting him back for you' I tell her as I run to her quickly, kiss her bloodied cheek and then run hell for leather back over to the doors and to Sookie. 'Did you see where he put the keys to the cuffs?' I then ask her when I arrive in front of her by the main door.

'On his key chain, he has it on him' she replies, while I nod and then turn to fling the doors open, running barefoot and topless (except for my bra) over to him with Sookie.

'Tyra, get the hell back inside, now' he says, his words laboured by the fact he has no strength, and is burning up in front of me, Russell looking more crispy fried than a piece of KFC chicken already; apparently the older the vampire, the faster the rate of decay.

'NO I WONT!' I roar at him in reply, pulling his keys from his pocket and flicking through them, having Sookie reach across and locate the tiny key for me and then take them and undo the cuff locked around Eric's wrist, with me snatching it and fastening it straight around mine as soon as it's off.

'Pull him back in, I'll stay to make sure this one is nothing but dust before I join you' I tell her, watching her nod and hearing Eric begin to protest as much as he can in his weakened state.

'Oh shut the fuck up!' Sookie scolds him, lifting him under his arms and surprisingly for such a dainty girl, having the strength to drag all six foot five inches and a couple of hundred pounds of him across the parking lot and back into the club, leaving just me and Mr Edgington.

'If I wasn't gay, I'd say nice tits' he comments, his voice thick with the agony he no doubt feels, smouldering away helplessly beside me.

'They're not for you to notice sunshine, oh and speaking of which, how is it? Are you enjoying its warmth upon your face Russell?' I reply sarcastically.

'Oh it's just lovely' he replies, equally as sarcastic as I was in my answer to him. 'So, why save the Viking then feisty lady? Why is he so important to you?' he then asks me, no doubt wondering why Eric would have anyone else other than Pam to care about him this much.

'He isn't, but his cock sure as hell is' I reply, lying through my damn teeth. Even now, when he's going to be reduced to ash in front of me, I will not let anything on about my involvement with Eric. Immediately Russell begins to laugh.

'Oh how I do have to admire that honesty. He ain't much use for anything else I can imagine, so well done you for securing your future orgasms. Smart gal' he replies, sounding amused but still, there's spite laced on each of his words.

'And now you know my motives, shut up and die quietly eh?' I tell him, hearing him laugh a little more before he's silent. Leaving me to just sit and wonder how damn long this is going to take...

Eric's POV.

'Sookie, get back out there and get Tyra away from Russell, NOW!' I instruct the young waitress who had just hauled me back into the club with all the strength I have left, which admittedly isn't much at all.

'She says she's waiting with him until he's dead, and he can't hurt her since he's so weak so what's your problem?' she asks me, looking put out.

'I have no time to explain this to you, just get her away from him or I swear I'll drag myself back out there to get her, and when I'm done I'll be the one who stays out there' I reply, wishing I could just swoop out there and get her, and wishing Sookie would just catch on to how important this is. If he so much as touches her, he'll feel her energy, and because of his age and wisdom probably work out right off the bat what she is too. And there's no way I'm risking him using his last strength to pull out the cell I know is still in his pocket, and let one of his associates know what he's found. Whatever she is, she's rare, and just because he's dead doesn't mean he won't still try and take her from me as one last big 'fuck you Eric Northman' gesture.

'Eric, I used to go to the same school as her, and let me tell you if Tyra Boden didn't wanna do something, she didn't and that was that, usually to violent results too. I could drag you in because you're weak, if she doesn't wanna come back she'll throw me across the damn parking lot, she's twice the size of me!' she replies.

'GO! And if she says no, use force and do not take no for an answer. She hates being touched anywhere near her ribcage unless it's a gentle one, so if she hassles you poke her in the side, she won't be able to fight back' I shout tensely at her, about as much as I can in my weakened state, seeing Pam's high heeled purple pumps come into my line of vision.

'Alright!' Sookie shouts, heading back over to the door and flinging it open in a haughty manner, while I turn my attention to a crying Pam.

'I thought I'd lost you' she sobs, dropping to her knees and resting her head on my chest, her hands softly gripping my jacket.

Meanwhile outside of Fangtasia...

Sookie's POV.

Okay so I think I'm in the dark over some things here, namely why my old school pal seems to be in the thick of this as much as I am, and for whatever reason, Eric is more than desperate to get her away from Russell Edgington. Easier said than done since she's incredibly strong for a lady, and as I remember almost got expelled for kicking some guy in the year above her down a flight of stairs for trying to bully her for her lunch money; imagine what she can do to little old me. I don't think Eric has quite thought that one through, that whereas he was a cinch to drag back into Fangtasia, a human at full strength who happens to have a really bad temper might not be as easy though.

'Tyra, you have to come in. Eric sent me to get you' I tell her as I walk out, looking down to see her look away from where she's been watching Russell smoulder (who now looks like a piece of charcoal whittled into the shape of a man) and smile.

'Tell him I'm fine, he ain't going anywhere and neither am I' she says, giving the arm that's cuffed at the wrist to Russell's a little shake. 'Oh quit your snivelling and keep burning you bastard' she then sneers at him when he groans in pain. Okay, so whatever her involvement is, it would seem she also holds the same amount of contempt for Russell as Eric does. I could hear it in her tone, which strangely enough, reminded me of Eric. They certainly have their similarities, except Tyra is A LOT more hospitable towards humans, as obviously she's one too.

'Sorry, he told me not to take no for an answer, and if you did protest that I had to use force' I reply, unlocking her side of the cuff from the key.

'Sookie, no offense but if I don't want to move, you aren't moving me for shit hon' she replies, while I grab her arm and try to pull her up. She doesn't budge at all. 'Told you' she then adds with an air of arrogance when my feeble attempt to pull her up doesn't even move her a centimetre across the floor.

'In that case, I've been instructed to do this' I reply, my hand shooting out and my fingers poking her right in her side, hearing her squeak and try to bat my hand away, her other arm going limp and allowing me to haul her up.

'Oh if only I'd have been born a heterosexual, the sight of two scantily clad blondes having a brawl would have made my death, it really would ladies' Russell says slowly, sounding like he's in more and more pain by the second.

'SHUT UP!' Tyra and I both roar at him at the same time, before I push her back hard while still jabbing my fingers into her rib cage, trying and trying but not being able to move her far still. Holy Jesus she's strong! And while I'm still fighting with everything I have to move her the five foot more I need to get her back to the club front door, a big black VW van with heavy tints on all the windows comes screeching to a stop, and two were's who I recognise from the mansion come charging out, throw a big black sheet over Russell, and then carry him straight back into the back of the van from where they came before the driver tears off just as they slide the door shut again.

'NICE ONE SOOKIE! REALLY FUCKING CLEVER! NOW ERIC'S GOING TO FUCKING KILL ME!' she screams at me, shaking herself loose from my grip and giving me a look that makes me fear for my shins; because I think they're about to get a kicking. And tough I may be, but I'm too exhausted from the events of the last few days to even have the energy to fight her off.

'AND IF I HADN'T HAVE TRIED TO GET YOU BACK IN, HE'D HAVE PROBABLY KILLED ME! THERE! WE'RE EVEN!' I yell back at her, watching her frown deepen as she shakes her head and then yanks the club door back open. And then, well, it really fucking kicks off if you'll pardon my French. I see Ginger present, and Eric standing up perfectly healed and strong again (having fed off her since she has blood running down her neck and chest), and...gunning for Tyra. Except I can't understand word of it since he's roaring at her in Swedish, and now she's shouting back at him in the same language, and oh my word he just slapped her clean across the face, and holy crap, she just slugged him right in the eye, and now Pam is between them, holding Tyra around the tops of her arms and trying to push her behind her to act as a shield against Eric. Just what the hell is going on between them? I thought Tyra had more sense to get involved with Eric Northman, because whatever it is, it's obvious it's just not the bookwork she's doing while she's here.

Tyra's POV.

'ERIC! SHE DIDN'T JUST DRAG YOU BACK IN FOR HER SAKE, SHE DID IT FOR ME TOO!' Pam yells at Eric, all three of us having gone from English to Swedish in dialect. Basically as soon as I came back into the club, this is what I got...

'YOU STUPID FUCKING BITCH, I HAD HIM! HE WAS AS GOOD AS DEAD UNITL YOU HAD TO COME ALONG AND MEDDLE!' he screamed at me, about an inch from my face.

'I COULDN'T AND WOULDN'T LET YOU DIE FOR THAT SACK OF SHIT! NO ERIC, NO WAY!' I protested, more upset than angry really. Did I even get a thank you for saving him? The hell I did.

'WHAT YOU DID WAS SELFISH! YOU SAVED ME BECAUSE YOU'RE OBVIOUSLY SO DAMNED PATHETIC YOU'D RATHER A PLAGUE LIKE RUSSELL EDGINGTON IS SET LOOSE ON THE WORLD THAN BE WITHOUT ME! AND JUST WHEN I THOUGHT YOU WERE DIFFERENT, BUT NO, YOU STILL HAVE THE SAME INSUFFERABLE EMOTIONAL VULNERABLENESS AS A HUMAN WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO IT TYRA!' he roared at me in reply, before slapping me around the face so hard I'm surprised I didn't fall over, but had enough in me to swing back and punch him straight in his eye. And that brings us up to now.

'SHE HAD NO RIGHT! BECAUSE OF HER HE ESCAPED!' Eric yells at Pam, angrier than I've ever seen him.

'NO ERIC! No! It's not her fault, just listen to me! When I was watching you on the security cameras, just a few minutes after you'd cuffed him he put his hand in his pocket, he was using his cell to contact those cronies of his who bundled him into the van it's obvious. And if it had still been you out there you'd have been in no state to fight them off, hell I'm glad it was Tyra who was out there! Russell knows nothing of her link to you so she's useless to him. If Sookie hadn't have dragged you in then they'd have probably taken you too, and tied you somewhere on their way to burn up for what you did to Russell. So when you think about it, she was pretty fucking smart really, wasn't she?' she then tells him, as I watch Eric begin to visibly calm down a little, his breathing slowing and then stopping totally again. And just from looking at him, I know he's suddenly looking at things differently, having what he's had pointed out to him so crystal clearly by Pam. His eyes then divert directly to me.

'May we talk downstairs?' he asks, back to English.

'That depends, are you going to slap me again?' I ask him, folding my arms.

'No, and I apologise sincerely for striking you. Now please...' he trails off, pointing in the direction of the back of the club, while I roll my eyes and head off in the direction he's pointing, feeling him walking along behind me at normal speed at a distance, until we get back into his apartment and I hear him shut the door behind him, and then quick as a flash I'm stopped in my tracks by his arms, circling around me from behind and gripping on around me.

'What you did was incredibly brave, perhaps even a little romantic too. But definitely stupid as well, because I'd give my own life for revenge against that man for what he did to my family back then, and to protect the only family I have in the here and now. You made me very, very angry with your actions. Yet, I do see Pam's reasoning quite clearly, so I suppose even though you foiled my plan I have to thank you, because they would have made sure I died and then my death would have been for nothing at all. I'm not so angry with you that I can't see that' he tells me, while I just nod, not really knowing what else to do, or what to say. But also feeling relieved his temper has calmed back down again.

'I'm glad, I hate fighting with you' I reply, turning in his arms and resting my head on his chest. 'And it wasn't all for me either, hell we aren't even in a relationship with one another. I honestly did do it for Pam too, and the fact a vampire like you cannot, and should not have to forsake himself for scum' I reply, feeling him rest his head atop mine.

'Can we just agree on one thing this morning?' he asks me.

'What's that?' I reply wearily.

'That we both stop talking and start sleeping' he replies, while I let him go and smile.

'Good idea' I reply before we both walk back over to the bed, cast our clothes off along the way and then get in, shut our eyes and not wake for nine and a half hours. Well, he doesn't wake for nine and a half hours; I on the other hand keep waking up every half an hour and checking he's still there. It was a frightening time for a minute then, thinking I'd lose him, the only blood I have left in the world so soon after I'd found him. And, to lose the vampire I'm beginning to find myself caring quite deeply for too. But I did legitimately save him for reasons more than just me though, except I didn't mention to him the main person, or vampire I really did it for at the time. Because I did it for Godric too, I wanted to honour what was his final wish (to me) at least, and keep an eye on Eric for him. And strangely, with him being on my mind as I crawl out of bed and go take a pee, then wash my hands and face afterwards, when I look at my reflection in the mirror, I see him gradually appear from nothing behind me.

'Godric?' I whisper, spinning around and staring at him, tears instantly filling my eyes. Oh lord how I've missed him.

'Thank you' he tells me with a smile, his ghostly transparent form walking towards me, and then reaching out and kissing my forehead, something I feel as a cold tingle more than a press of lips, since he's a spirit now. 'I always knew you'd look out for him, just like I always knew you'd be right for him too. You're right for each other' he tells me, while I smile, blinking and letting the pools of tears collecting in my eyes slip down my cheeks.

'I miss you' is all I can reply, my voice breaking a little as I feel extreme emotion choking me.

'I miss you too' he tells me slowly and sincerely, the affection in his voice making a huge lump rise in my throat. 'And I want you to know, you will find a way to end Russell Edgington, _you_ will. Not Eric. And you will find it soon, but when you do, just be patient with it. And keep up the good work, so far minus the fights you two seem to relish in participating in with each other, you're doing a good job of looking after one another, which is what I wanted above all' he then says before slowly, he steps away, smiling kindly and fading out to nothing again, leaving me now to wonder why the demise of Russell Edgington falls at my feet so specifically rather than Eric's. I know one thing for sure, there's no fucking way I'll be falling back to sleep easily upon my return to him and that nice big bed I was enjoying sleeping in. Godric, the upmost respect I have for you of course, but still, damn you.

**Authors note - So then girls, how did you like all those twists and turns of events? Leave a review and let me know, and once again THANK YOU SO MUCH for the continued interest in this! xx**


	23. Chapter 23

Eric's POV.

'Do I need to hit you over the head with something to knock you out? I would fuck you, but since I'm running on very little sleep it'd only last about half an hour, and that's not enough to tire you out' I ask Tyra when her presence climbing back into bed wakes me. She's woken me about three times already, but I haven't said anything to her about it. I hoped, but didn't expect that she'd sleep well.

'I just saw Godric in the bathroom' she replies as she gets in, and I look at her closer and note she's been crying, her eyelashes wet and clumped together as she sniffs.

'Ah, I was wondering when he'd appear to you as well. At least I know for definite now that I've not been quietly going insane' I say, looking right at her as I widen and then cross my eyes as I speak the word 'insane', and then hearing something I've rarely heard her do; giggle. The desired effect.

'Oh my god, I think the sight of you having a sense of humour has shocked me more than the disappearing reappearing Godric' she says through her laughter.

'It only happens every now and then, and when absolutely necessary, which it was in this case to get that look of being both bewildered and daunted off your face. So, what did he say to you?' I ask her, lying back down and turning onto my side.

'Well firstly he thanked me for doing as he'd asked me to do in his letter to me, and that was to keep an eye on you for him' she begins, and immediately I cannot help but to interrupt.

'He asked you to keep an eye on me? Hmph, I don't believe it' I scoff, feeling quite offended that Godric would think I need a woman to watch out for me. I'm no lost child in need of a mother figure, and besides, Tyra is the last woman I could ever possibly see in a motherly light, for obvious reasons.

'Ask him yourself when he appears to you next, because you probably won't believe what else he told me. He basically said that I'm going to be the one who finds a way to end Russell, and not you. And that when I do, I must be patient, and that it's going to happen soon' she replies, finally relaxing from her position hugging her knees and looking dismayed, to lying back down next to me and looking only...mildly dismayed.

'Which leads me to one of two conclusions; you're overtired and under too much mental duress after what happened a few hours ago and hallucinating, or you're even more of a powerful supernatural creature than I ever realized, and it is indeed you that will find a way to end Russell, and this is why Godric sent you to me too, perhaps foreseeing it somehow, knowing you'd be a vital asset as well as something I'd come to grow an affection for over time' I reply, watching her frown slightly.

'You've grown affection for me? The erection you grow for me I notice a lot, but the affection not so much' she then jokes, smiling at me from behind her hand.

'If you're going to mock me when I'm trying to be sincere, I'll remember to do it less in the future' I tell her seriously, annoyed slightly when I'm met with more comedy.

'Then that would make it a never again occurring event' she replies, making me just stare at her until she realizes she's being inappropriate.

'Sorry' she says in a small voice, still looking somewhat amused but reining it in to a level I'm not so prickled at.

'Now, it's time we went back to sleep. And in the morning you can think of ways to annihilate Russell Edgington, since it's not my problem any longer' I reply, giving her a smug look.

'So you're not even going to help me in any of this?' she asks, slightly aghast.

'Did I say that? Did those words specifically leave my mouth? No, they did not. And yes, of course I'm going to help you. Now, shut up and go to sleep' I reply, watching her give me a thin smile.

'Yes sir' she replies, leaning forward and giving me a quick kiss I return and then turning over and pulling my arm over her to rest around her waist. And then finally, after about five minutes of shifting around, she falls asleep. While I lie there awake for a few moments, wondering where the hell to go next with all of this, and wondering how the hell much longer I have to wait to discover what Tyra really is, when something solid will hit me and I'll be able to say 'You're a...' whatever she is. And as it turns out, that moment is going to occur a lot faster than I think.

Another night and day have passed by, and for all appearances Russell Edgington has vanished off the radar. I took a call from Nan Flanagan several hours ago and informed her of the events which had taken place here at the club, and after the AVL did a sweep of Louisiana and Mississippi, so far he's yet to be found.

'As long as he keeps himself out of the public eye Sheriff, your fangs are safe for that long as least. I could send you out on a bounty of sorts to bring him in, but the sweep has proved him to be very, very well hidden. I doubt even you could bring him in if my associates cannot' she told me, before hanging up. And so I suppose life returns to normal of sorts, except Nan Flanagan will not tell me what to do; I have enough discreet contacts out there to trace Mr Edgington myself without even leaving my club. Speaking of Fangtasia, I'm heading to the main doors right now, since I can hear a noise I haven't heard for a very, very long time. And also, I just picked up on Tyra's energy (as I do when she's close by), and she's not happy at all. I find out the cause of both as soon as I arrive at my progeny's side.

'I could hear cackling, and I haven't heard you do that since you were a human. So you'll understand my concern' I tell Pam as I come to the front of the club, seeing first hand what's making her laugh. It would appear someone pulling out of the parking lot hit Tyra's car on her way in. And to say she's furious would be putting it mildly. I love it when she's angry, so I just stand back with Pam and watch.

'Didn't see me? DIDN'T FUCKING SEE ME? I DRIVE A BRIGHT RED CAR RAIN MAN, WHAT PART OF THAT IS LOW VISIBILITY EXACTLY YOU STUPID FUCKING BLIND BASTARD!' she roars at him, while Pam just laughs more.

'Rain man!' she repeats, shaking her head and looking thoroughly amused, while to my delight Tyra shows no signs of calming down. It's a wonderful sight, to watch a supernatural tearing shreds off a human, whether that be physically or in this case metaphorically. That car is her absolute pride and joy, so the all out display of rage currently warming my insides is no surprise at all, but still, even after the events of two days ago I've still never seen her this angry.

'YOU DIDN'T HAVE YOUR LIGHTS ON YOU DUMB FUCKING BITCH!' he suddenly shouts at her, warranting me to move until I'm standing right next to her, and to notice something when she retaliates again.

'MY LIGHTS WERE ON! THEY'RE STILL FUCKING ON! WELL, AT LEAST THE ONE THAT HASN'T BEEN SMASHED WHERE YOU PLOUGHED INTO THE FUCKING FRONT WING IS STILL ON! HOW DARE YOU TRY AND PUSH THE BLAME ONTO ME YOU FUCKING HALF WITTED MORON!' She roars, while the guy suddenly backs off at speed, and I see it fully. Her eyes have changed colour, and are currently not the usual bright blue, but bright orange.

'What the HELL is wrong with your eyes lady? Fucking freaky bitch!' he exclaims, barely able to retreat another step or utter his last word properly before my hand is locked around his throat and I'm an inch away from his face.

'If I were you, I'd choose my next words very, very carefully' I warn him, feeling him beginning to shake. It's never taken much for me to be able to incite terror in human beings; they're way too easy to bend to my will. And without even having to glamour them for the most part, just like now.

'It was my fault I'll pay for the damage! I'll write a check right now, put my card number on the back and give you my name and address; you can check all that too just to know I ain't lying. I-I-I'm sorry I pronged your girlfriends' car man, real sorry' he says very quickly, looking as terrified as I intended him to feel.

'Apologise to her, not me. And if you do try and pull a fast one, the last thing I'll make sure you know the taste of before you die will be the lining of your own stomach. Do I make myself clear?' I reply casually, slowly letting him go.

'Y-y-y-y-y-ep' he stammers. Pathetic. I turn back to Tyra and note her eyeing me curiously, no doubt over my comment about her eyes than anything else.

'Transmits beautiful energy, runs fast, has sharp senses, a high sex drive, and bright orange eyes when extremely angry. We're learning more about you every day. I'll be downstairs when you're done' I tell her, before leaving her to it and heading back down to my apartment at speed, tearing over to my ancient bookshelf and pulling a volume out, a very, very old book cataloguing the supernatural creatures that existed centuries ago, flicking through the pages at speed, scarcely able to believe I might have found out what she is. To my knowledge, there's only ever been one supernatural creature whose eyes glow orange in extreme anger, and they all died out a thousand years ago. If she's one of them...well right now I can't even think about that, because it's too big, and there's just one other thing I must test her with in order to find out if she is what I think she is. This is huge, so huge that if my heart worked, it'd be beating right out of my chest now in excited anticipation. Yes, actual, real excitement. You will find out why in due course too, but for now...

'There's somewhere we have to go' I tell Tyra ten minutes later when she enters the apartment, moving at speed until I'm by her side, taking her arm and ushering her back out of the door again and then slamming it behind us.

'Woah, hang on a second. Firstly I've gotta stay here and organise getting my car towed back to Bon Temps. And secondly what the hell did that man mean when he asked what was wrong with my eyes? What was wrong with my eyes Eric?' she asks me, looking perplexed.

'Your car can stay out on the lot tonight, call the garage four blocks away and have them come and tow it away in the morning, it makes more sense than to drag it all the way back to your place when they can fix it and are so close by. And as for your eyes, well, you can't have noticed it before or you would have told me that it was an unusual trait you had. So all I can ask is, have you ever been that angry before?' I ask her as we walk up the stairs.

'Now that you mention it, no I haven't. Even though I'm a bad tempered person, I really never lose it like that often, and I've never been that angry with someone, I still am! I just snapped when he tried to blame me and say I didn't have my lights on when I did, and use me for the excuse that he didn't look to his right properly. But anyway, my eyes, what the fuck was up with them? You mentioned something about them being orange?' she says, shaking her head suddenly and then slapping me in the arm, making me stop, look at the spot she just slapped and then back up at her.

'There's no need to be abusive' I tell her in light joke, watching her roll her eyes.

'Just tell me' she asks, softly but still urgently.

'I think I might know what you are little Miss Orange eyes. But there's something I need you to do in order to test that, hence why we're going out' I reply as we walk up into the club and make our way through towards the exit.

'So where are you taking me?' she asks as we walk across the parking lot to where my black Jaguar XK8 is parked.

'All will be revealed soon enough' I tell her as I click the locks open, and then open the door for her. And I really do hope that, because if she is what I think she is, then I've struck more than gold.

Tyra's POV.

'Please will you tell me where we're going? And just to point out, you're doing eighty five in a forty zone right now' I ask Eric as we speed through Shreveport, reaching forward to turn the air con up a little since the night is quite warm.

'It's a surprise, and I'm fully aware of the speed I'm doing' he replies, reaching over and resting his hand on my thigh.

'I hate surprises' I grumble.

'Well I have a feeling you will not hate this one, since we're perhaps a hairs breadth from discovering what you are, so have a little patience' he replies as we hit the freeway, and he really puts his foot down. Damn this car can move, and because of this fact it doesn't take us long to reach our destination, the car pulling off the freeway and snaking through a few small side roads, before reading a main carriageway that I recognise to be the very outskirts of Shreveport, and then pulling up outside City Zoo.

'You're taking me to a closed zoo? Whaaaaaat?' I reply quietly, drawing out the word 'what' to get across how confused I am right now.

'As I said, all will be revealed. Wait here for me, I'll be back after I've glamoured all the security guys behind the gates' he replies, before shooting out of the car in a blur and leaving me with only a hell of a lot of unanswered questions. The zoo? The fucking zoo? Eric, I'm starting to think that you actually have gone insane now, which is what I tell him in as many words too when he comes back to fetch me.

'All will be revealed' he says again, before for the first time ever he takes my hand in his and holds it as we walk towards the gates of the zoo, a glamoured security man swinging it open for us immediately.

'Enjoy your visit to City Zoo sir, ma'am' he tells us politely, obviously having been glamoured into agreeing to let us in without a fuss; which is more than can be said for some of the animals, especially when we pass by the tiger enclosure and a huge male begins to throw himself at the fence, roaring at Eric.

'Tigers aren't vampire friendly I see' I note as we walk along past, the tiger running along the other side of the fence as we walk briskly by.

'He's challenging me, only because he knows I'm above him in the food chain' he replies casually, looking over at the tiger who then turns his head and ambles away after being stared at. Thank god Poon isn't as aggressive as her big cat cousins with him; the most he gets is a swipe with her claws when he winds her up, usually dangling a live mouse he's speedily caught in front of her and snatching it away again before she can grab it. That's the only thing that displeases her about Eric; the other morning when he was sleeping I crept into my bedroom to see her curled up on his back, just as comatose as he was. And the strange thing is he really doesn't mind her doing it either. He's quite odd like that, how tolerant he can be of some creatures. And on we continue to walk, past a big lake area where I can see the shadow outlines of huge hippopotamuses in the water, ears twitching as they are disturbed by the midges that fly around their heads and pester them, over the bridge and past the elephant enclosure where Eric indulges me by letting me stop and say hello to them for a few moments since they're my favourite animal, scratching the thick, dry skinned trunk of the big female who's stuck her long nose over the side of her enclosure, before we continue to walk until we come to a stop in front of another enclosure, that looks totally empty.

'And here we are' is all he says before he puts his arms around me and shoots up into the air, over the fence, and puts me down on the other side before once again up into the air he flies, landing neatly back on the other side and leaving me in the dark enclosure by myself.

'Okay, what the hell are you playing at? And what's in this enclosure?' I ask him, hearing sounds coming from the far end.

'I'm testing what you are, and in a couple of moments you're going to have a big male wolf come out and challenge you. Just stand your ground, don't be afraid, and stare him in the eyes. If you are what I think you are, he won't harm you at all. And if you're not, then I'll swoop back in and get you before he attacks you. And speak of the devil' he replies, pointing across the enclosure at the last part of his sentence, making me turn my head and see a huge grey and white wolf approaching me, and then turn back to him immediately.

'This ceased to be funny about five seconds ago, get me the hell out of here!' I demand angrily, hearing the wolf beginning to growl from its position, and then out of the corner of my eye I see him quickly advance across the enclosure.

'Turn around and look him in the eye right now. Trust me' he ensures, while I take a nervous gulp and then do as instructed, turning to see the huge wolf charging towards me, and then when I look him in the eyes grind to a halt instantly and lie down.

'Okay, so the wolf seems not to want to eat me any longer because I've looked at him. What in the hell does that mean? Eric? Eric?' I ask, saying his name a few times when there's nothing but silence, and then turn to see him looking how I've never seen him look before; in total, all out shock. Eye's wider than saucers, mouth ever so slightly agape, and his hands gripping onto the railings of the enclosure so hard they've not only gone white, but I can see the skin tearing across them and then healing again, his hands shaking ever so slightly too.

'I...I...don't believe it' he finally replies quietly. 'I'm seeing it, I know what you are now, but I just cannot believe my eyes. What you are, your kind has been extinct for over a thousand years, so you just cannot be, but you are' he adds, shaking his head and looking amazed.

'What am I? Come on the suspense is fucking killing me over here!' I shout at him, not angrily but impatiently, and a little amused too since he still looks so damn stunned.

'You're Wolverina, queen of the wolves, and perhaps the most one of the most revered supernatural creatures of them all' he tells me, just staring at the wolf as he continues to lie down about eight feet away from me, staring at me with undivided attention.

'I'm a what? I sound like a character from X-Men!' I scoff, shaking my head. What a stupid name! I find out I'm a supernatural creature, a credible one at that too, with the most un credible, ludicrous name anyone could ever think of. Great! Cue all the X-Men jokes you can think of here, I certainly am.

'Tyra do not even joke, what you are, it's simply incredible, and you're the only one left, and...I can't talk any more right now' he says, shaking his head again, but at least not looking too shocked any more, beginning to smile a little now too. And so we both just stand there silently, and the wolf keeps lying down and looking at me, and everything still feels really weird as the silence passes and passes. So, I'm the queen of the wolves huh? I'm not sure exactly why that's so important right now, but I'm sure Eric will be keen to tell me, once he's recovered the power of speech that is.

'So, the wolf over there, is he going to just keep on lying there like that, staring at me?' I ask him after about five minutes of stony silence as I crouch down.

'He's respecting his queen. It's their version of bowing to you, so you have to release him from your command and he'll venture over to introduce himself. Just nod at him and he'll get up' he replies, sounding a little more together now. And so I look back at the wolf and nod, and then watching him come scampering over to me at speed, and then amazingly he makes a soft whimpering noise and pushes his face against mine, licking my cheek a few times while I run my fingers through his coat and give him a scratch.

'How does he know what I am?' I ask, the wolf now sitting down next to me obediently.

'Every wolf knows what you are by instinct, as soon as you look at them. Your kind controlled them for centuries, them and werewolves too. I'd hazard a guess you'd have the same results with regular domesticated dogs as well, since they come from wolves. Is that anything you've ever noticed before? Dogs being very obedient around you?' he asks me, before quick as a flash he shoots up over the fence and retrieves me, putting me back down again on the other side before I've even had chance to blink, and the wolf trotting away back into the darkened fringes of his enclosure.

'My mother always had an irrational fear of dogs, so I was never around them a lot. And if I ever was, seeing them lying down in front of me just wouldn't have seemed unusual, this is why I didn't mention it before' I reply, as we begin to walk back in the direction of the exit. Then, something else chinks into place, something I always found weird. Sam Merlotte has always maintained I make him feel a little nervous (that information of course only related to me via Sookie or Lafayette), and since he's a shape shifter who changes into a dog for the most part, of course it'd be his doggie senses picking up on what I am, yet not enough to make him drop to the floor and bow before me.

'All the signs were so clear, the things you could do, your abilities. I did wonder a couple of months ago if that was what you were, but I dismissed the idea completely because as I stated, Wolverina's have been nonexistent for over a millennia. But you definitely are one, and once we return to the club I shall let you sit and read all about what you are, and answer any questions you may have thereafter. But, my knowledge on Wolverina's is limited I must confess, because of the fact I keep stating, you were all wiped out' he replies, while I nod and take it in steadily, my newly acquired regal status among wolves. And then Eric speaks again.

'Of course, the one thing you should know is that your kind are totally irresistible to vampires, back then a Wolverina and a vampire went hand in hand, we were considered the perfect mate for each other' he says, before taking my hand again, kissing it, and then continuing striding for the zoo gate which we reach more quickly than I expected. And I'm glad we did, because I can't wait to get back to his place and discover all this in more depth. It's beyond amazing really, when you think about it.

'Hmmmm, that explains why you spent so long pursuing me then' I comment as we walk toward the car.

'I does indeed you majesty' he says, giving me a kiss as he holds the car door open for me, before I climb in and let everything that's happened in the last hour sink in. And it still hasn't quite penetrated my brain fully by the time we arrive back at the club. Somehow, I didn't think it would.

**Authors note - Once again THANK YOU very, very much for your kinds reviews and continued interest girls :) if you liked the chapter, let me know with a little review! I'd be interested as always to hear your thoughts. Plus, I'm home alone (the boyfriend is on a night shift) tonight with a splitting headache, so I could do with the cheer up reading a review gives me lol! xxx**


	24. Chapter 24

**Warning! Chapter contains strong scenes of a sexual nature! You know the drill!**

Tyra's POV.

'Here, to enjoy while you read. I'm only sorry that I have no further information on your kind other than what's there on that page, but your kind was long gone by the time books were beginning to be properly bound. And by then, since you were all gone there wasn't much use writing anything in depth about you' Eric tells me as he places a glass of red wine down on the table at the end of the couch I'm lying on, book laid open on my lap as I sit under the light of a hell of a lot of candles to my side.

'Thank you, you've no need to be sorry though. I'm sure this will suffice just fine' I reply, taking a sip of my wine and noting how beautiful it tastes, then looking at the date on the bottle he also placed next to the glass,1989, ouch, pricey wine. I do feel quite the spoiled lady tonight.

'That's the thing, I know it won't regarding one certain factor, but we'll discuss that once you've finished reading' he tells me, moving my legs as he sits down next to me and then placing my feet on his lap, idly playing with my toes and tickling his fingers over the soles as I sit and read the following information on what I am from the large, and very old smelling book-

_Wolverina: Queens of the wolves._

_The Wolverina's were an ancient race of female supernatural's, whose existence spanned between approximately 3000BC, up until 990AD. Hailing almost exclusively from Scandinavia, these women were notable for not just only their exquisite natural beauty, but also their powers as queens of the wolves. As well as wild wolves, all werewolves where also under their power and acknowledged them as their authority, their monarchs. The traits of a Wolverina, apart from being very beautiful creatures, were the similar abilities to those of wolves. _

_Heightened senses such as sharper hearing, a keener sense of smell and better vision could be noted, as well as the ability to run at speeds faster than humans, having a greater physical strength and a very strong instinct were all qualities associated with the ancient supernatural queens. Also, these women were highly, highly regarded, revered and respected by vampires, the main reason being for the effect the Wolverina had on them, something that was exclusively felt by vampires. Wolverina's were able to transmit a euphoric energy by just touching a vampire, and their blood was the fuel to make any vampire who fed upon them many times stronger than they already were through their vampirism. Also, vampires respected their calm and intelligent nature, but also their strength and rage, two sides of the yin and yang that existed within every Wolverina; grace and power. _

_The power the held over wolves and werewolves was immense, their respect so high for their queens they would (in a wolf's case) lie down immediately, or in the case of a werewolf, bow before them. This respect was also borne from the threat of the punishment they would receive for not obeying a queen or her command. Another name for Wolverina was 'the orange eyed women', because of the fact that once highly enraged through disrespect their eyes would change away from their natural colour to the same orange pigmentation of some wolves. And their stare once in that orange state was lethal. They would be able to subject them to immense and unbearable pain through the power in their eyes, and if that look lasted for more than a few seconds their target would meet their death via a huge brain haemorrhage. _

_They were also often dubbed 'the vampire brides' as throughout their history it has been noted how often vampires and Wolverina's often coupled. Vampires and werewolves alike have mourned their passing for centuries, since the last traces of them were wiped out from Scandinavia sometime shortly before 1000AD. It is a true sadness that these rare and radiant women no longer walk the earth as the most revered and respected of the supernatural community._

'Well, you were right this is a very brief portrait of who I am. And also, it doesn't explain how I _can_ be too. I mean, if we were all wiped out at around the time you were made, then how the hell did I happen? What made me Wolverina after they'd all been gone for over a thousand years? That's the one bit I really do not get' I tell Eric after I've finished reading and he's done playing with my feet.

'That is the exact thing that has me stuck for an answer too. I just do not know how the hell you can be one, but you are. You absolutely are. And you have no idea how lucky I feel right now, to have you sitting next to me, to be the woman I share my bed with too. It's...more than incredible, I'm beyond amazed, I truly am' he tells me, addressing me with just a touch more respect than usual. Well, after what I just read so he damned well should be. I'm to be respected and revered allegedly. Please note I do say this in jest; my newly discovered regal status has not and will not go to my head. I'm the rarest supernatural creature of the lot, the last queen of the wolves; so? Being a bookkeeper pays my bills, not being able to kill anything with the word 'wolf' in its name via a brain haemorrhage. I'm still Tyra Boden, accountant, before I'm anything else in my view.

'So are there any vampires left on earth who are old enough to remember what I am? And who you might know personally as to why I am what I am, how it's possible?' I then ask him, putting the book down on the table and picking up my wine again.

'Yes, there is one' he begins slowly and carefully, suddenly looking a little uncomfortable. 'The oldest on earth in fact, the vampire queen of Norway Agnes Bynhild, who is by now around four thousand years old' he replies, while my mind tries to take that in. Four THOUSAND years old? That's incredible, that means she's been here since the time the pyramids were being built. That's astounding, simply astounding.

'Hold on, if she's four thousand years old, just how old are vampires? And why do you suddenly look all uncomfortable, you almost winced when you spoke the name Agnes' I reply, taking another big gulp of my wine.

'Vampires date back to approximately 4500BC, and the reason I look uncomfortable is the fact that Agnes isn't exactly my greatest fan, not since I turned down her sexual advances three hundred years ago when I first met her. Because the thing is, she was only sixteen when she was made, and she still looks too much like a child for me to have any sexual interest in her, although of course because of her age I have the upmost respect for her. But, she doesn't like to be refused, and she's held it against me ever since. And believe me, Agnes can hold a grudge' he replies, while I just nod, quite surprised by his answer. It shows that somewhere inside he does indeed have decency; and although technically of course she was of age to have had sex with him, because of how young she looked he didn't want to. You have to respect a man for that.

'Ah, so you can't exactly just come out and ask her then?'I question.

'No, you'd be right there. I'd have to have another vampire do it on my behalf, which can be arranged easily enough. But then again to be honest, Agnes had so much of a fixation with your kind that I wouldn't be surprised if she'd put that aside if I did contact her. She'd definitely be interested in this, and as much as she hates me she's actually quite gentle in her nature, although of course the savage is still prominent; she is after all extremely powerful. And in that gentleness and power, she does sometimes remind me a little of Godric. So I can guarantee her knowing of your existence would put you in no danger' he replies, while quite a scary penny drops in my head.

'I didn't think until just now, but if my blood makes vampires more powerful, well, if too many find out what I am, I'll get hunted down to be fed upon won't I?' I ask him, my throat feeling tight all of a sudden. The thought of another vampire feeding from me or even just the precursor to it, penetrating my neck with their fangs, makes me feel a little sick. I know I have no base for comparison, but I know I only like it because it's Eric doing it.

'No one other than me, Pam, or Agnes, or any trusted vampire of her court will know about what you are, that I can promise you because yes, there are vampires out there, older and more powerful ones who will come after you. I must be honest when I say that, so what you are has to be a secret closely guarded between us. Because if someone like Li San Lu, the vampire king of Tokyo found out he'd stop at absolutely nothing to take you from me. And believe me, if you think I'm hostile, you should meet Li. In comparison to him I'm a bantam to his super heavyweight. So I cannot even enjoy the smugness that I'd feel at being able to boast that the woman I'm sleeping with is one of the creatures most desired by vampires. A shame, I would have enjoyed that' he replies, while I just give him the kind of look that comment at the end deserves, shaking my head. 'But' he then says, moving up the couch until he's above me, taking my glass from me and placing it onto the table, and then resting his weight on his elbows either side of my arms. 'I'm content enough with just knowing how special you are, and what you are, without letting the rest of the world having to know too' he finishes, before kissing me with the kind of kiss that I know is going to lead to more in an instant, but slowly; very, very slowly. He begins by sliding the straps of my dress off my shoulders one at a time, kissing the skin they trail across as he slides them down to my arms, his mouth following before moving to my breasts as his hands pull the dress down further, leaving it bunched at my waist as he moves his mouth to the side of my neck, kissing it hungrily while his hand slides up my thigh, his other gripping the side of my waist.

Then, his other hand slides up to my waist and they both begin to slowly side my dress down further, his mouth leaving my neck as he sits up and then returning to my stomach, kissing it softly, trailing circles across it with his tongue while his hands finally remove the dress from my body, slipping it down my legs and off, his mouth moving to kiss my thighs. He loves to take his time, which is something I never really expected from him; I thought he'd be quite barbarian over sex; get in, fuck until he's satisfied, get out. How wrong I was.

'You look stunning in these, so stunning I almost don't want to take them off' he tells me, gesturing to the black and white embroidered underwear set I'm wearing, snapping the elastic of the thong off my flesh with his teeth, tongue running over the curve of my hip and up my side, making a lustful quake ripple through me. His hands run back up my body, reaching my breasts and squeezing them, making them rise into two perfect semi circles over the top of my bra, nipples escaping the confides of the cups and teased with a flicker of his tongue, before suddenly he bites on, teeth sinking into the top of my breast, leaving it beginning to ooze a little trail of blood his tongue laps up. This is as close to feeding from me as he gets right now, after alluding to me a few weeks ago that he wanted to stop, until he could find out more about why it's affecting him so strongly, mentioning something about a possible blood bond (whatever that is) but not going into any great detail. It's something I make a mental note to ask him about once we're done...if I remember that is. He fucks me so good that I have trouble remembering my own name afterwards.

'You're way too overdressed' I tell him, taking the bottom of the pale blue sweater he's wearing and pulling it up his body and over his head, casting it down on the floor and running my hands over his beautiful muscles, my fingers finding his nipples and pinching them hard between my nails, hearing him groan in my ear before he begins kissing my neck again. His hands still caress me all over, but eventually stop their random wandering of my curves to slide under my back and unclip my bra, freeing my breasts to his hands, and my nipples to his mouth, sucking them in turn, his fangs pressing against them and breaking the skin a little, before his lips then move and travel into my cleavage, and then slowly, slowly, down to my ribcage and my stomach, covering every last centimetre of skin in kisses and licks, skin which feels like it's burning up and only feeling cooled by the constant attention of his hands all over me. And then that sensation changes when instead I feel him trailing his fingertips slowly in circles down my sides, his tongue licking a line from my navel, between my breasts and over my neck before it finally reaches the destination of my mouth, swirling with mine and muffling a highly aroused moan that escapes my throat. My arousal is beginning to reach dizzying heights already, and I've still got my thong on; being touched by him is like having my body turned into one giant erogenous zone.

His fingers move lower over my hips, and then down the sides of my thighs, our kiss breaking and him staring down at me for a few moments, before his mouth claims mine again, his body pressing into mine hard, the huge erection still contained within the dark blue jeans he has on pressing against my lower abdomen, his hands sliding back up my legs and fingers creeping under the elastic of my underwear, and then pulling it at either side until it snaps at the back, casting it down on the floor as his mouth leaves mine and the deep breath I take comes out as a groan when once again I'm bitten, another dry bite to the same breast, except on the rounded under curve, the trails of blood that run out being chased by his tongue. I can also feel his fingertips trailing down the inside of my thighs with careful, deliberate delicacy which makes them begin to shudder, especially when they reach the crease of each leg, exploring the juncture between them and the most sexually sensitive place on my entire body, his head suddenly disappearing between my legs and his tongue running languidly up the crease of each thigh where his fingers just roamed.

But still, he doesn't use it to invade my inner lips, that I can feel have grown slippery and wet with building want for him, a want that now lingers as potently as a grenade with it's pin pulled; my body anticipates the explosion that will happen when it's touched more deeply. Except that moment of anticipation just keeps on building, and keeps on lingering, until I feel gratification of sorts, one of his fingers beginning to stroke a circle gently around my moistened opening, tiny little tingles starting to jump from nerve ending to nerve ending, blood rushing to the area as I begin to feel all my inner muscles tighten uncomfortably, the throb of want too much to bear. Especially since he keeps this up, along with his tongue flickering across my hip, for what feels like forever.

'Stop it!' I chide, shaking all over, barely managing to handle this intense teasing.

'Can you not handle it? Okay then, I shall cease' he says, sitting up abruptly and shuffling right down to the other end of the couch, amusement all over his face as he looks at me out of the corner of his eye, folding his arms.

'Stop being an ass Northman, you know perfectly well what I meant' I reply, giving him a little shove in the thigh with my foot.

'Oh we're on surname terms only now are we Boden?' he asks, looking more and more amused by the second.

'Just come back here' I reply, rolling my eyes.

'So now you want me again hmm? I feel it rather facetious of you to call me the capricious one' he tells me as he crawls back up the couch, and begins to kiss me all around my navel, his hands sliding down my thighs and opening my legs a touch wider, before finally, I feel the gratification my body has burned to have bestowed on it. His fingers stroke across my labia before parting them to make way for the tongue that eagerly finds my clit, slowly but firmly giving one slow lick with the flat of his tongue, making my hips jolt up off the couch, his hands pressing them back down firmly, as his tongue takes another slow but hard lick at my clit. But still, he still just has to keep the merciless teasing up, his tongue leaving my sensitive bud to trail my inner thighs in turn again, that finger which previously circled my opening returned and barely pushing inside me, just to the first joint of his finger if that, and once again circling around and around. And then he pushes it fully into me, and the involuntary muscles contraction grips his finger in way of begging for him not to retreat it while I moan in want, driving my hips forward to try and keep that thick finger inside me when it begins to slide out again slowly. But what his finger left his tongue now enters, pushing inside my tight wet hole as far as he can stretch it to, and then he finally stops with the teasing, and really goes to work on me with his mouth. Tongue darting from inside me up to my clit, circling it at speed and then sucking on it hard, sliding his middle finger back inside me again, and then another, that delicious stretch of being opened more than he'd allow before making my heart feel like it's about to beat right out of my chest.

My breathing quickens, short breaths escaping my mouth as I moan softly, entangling my fingers in his hair before running them down onto his shoulders, my hips shaking under the pleasure building up like a furnace being stoked with kerosene, the burning ache I feel at wanting him inside me tightening, making the insertion of a third finger so gratifying and the speed he fucks me with them at drives me headlong into orgasm, my nails dragging down his arms and breaking the skin heavily as my hips jolt against his hand, his tongue still flickering across my clit quickly. And before I can register it I'm turned over and my hips pulled up, the sound of him undoing his belt and jeans at speed before then the cold plunge of his erection into my warmth, making me moan with satisfaction and reach a hand between my legs to feel him gliding in and out of me with hard, deep yet slow thrusts, his cock completely coated in my wetness. And then I have no choice but to take my hand away and use it to keep myself up as he begins to enter me with less contained strokes, the pace becoming fast and remaining that way, making me feel like I'm being fucked by a machine. Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang and on it goes, his hand taking a handful of my hair and yanking my head back abruptly, fangs diving into my shoulder, tongue licking the wound and then moving to the side of my neck, as I feel his other hand sliding tantalizingly down my body, rubbing my clit firmly with his fingertips when it finally slips between my legs.

I love it when he fucks me from behind, this position allowing more of his colossal length to enter me and hit spots within so deep it isn't long before each long, hard thrust coupled with his masterful touch is driving another orgasm out of my body, my moans and cries silent for the few seconds it takes for the ball of pleasure to burn up into the pit of my groin, a long low groan of agonised rapture emanating my open mouth as that ball explodes, washing over me and spreading to my chest and limbs, making me feel blank and redundant of thought for a few seconds, long enough time for him to rid himself of his jeans and move me to the bed, re entering me in an instant as I still pant with the exhaustion my climax left me with, those ragged breaths escaping my nose when he presses his mouth to mine. His hands take my wrists and pin my arms down to the bed, still plunging into me with hard, uncontained strokes as I wrap my legs around his waist, feeling his mouth leave mine and trail a line of kisses and tongue twirls across my sweaty, slightly bloodied flesh until he reaches my left nipple and starts to suck it, tongue prodding against the tip. And then without warning he withdraws from me and moves rapidly from the bed and back again, returning with a curved blade knife in his hand.

'Never accuse me of not listening to you, and remembering' he tells me, holding his weight above me on one elbow and running the blade edge down the side of my neck and over my chest, not hard enough to break the skin but enough to make my skin break out in goosepimples at the feel of the sharp metal gliding across me. I open my legs to him wider and feel the tip of his erection nudge against me for entrance, pressing hard and sliding in with ease, forcing a soft gasp from my throat at feeling us rejoined, a gasp that changes in pitch to a groan as I feel the knife edge press down between my breasts and begin to slice downwards and into my skin, my blood coating the blade and then the wound being licked by his cold, wet tongue. It hurts to good I can barely contain the wild excitement coursing through me. The pace becomes more voracious by the moment, another slit from the knife being made to my neck as he slams into me, the moment when he turns me onto my front being the only point we lose tangency before he's inside me again, fucking me furiously, growling deeply and sliding the blade right down my spine, making me shudder and moan, a moan that grows louder when I feel his tongue where the knife pressed and slit my skin open, and then feel him drop it from his hand and use both to hold my hips, his body battering against mine as he begins to come, driving me to the same point with a scream as my nails drag across the sheets.

And then my arms give way and I collapse face first into the pillows, fighting to catch my breath as I feel him move from behind me feel him lie down next to me, turning my head to see him putting the knife on nightstand and then wrapping an arm over me and pulling me close. He lets me feed from his wrist to close up the cuts the knife left behind, and because of my sheer exhaustion his blood leaves me feeling light headed and sleepy rather than dangerously aroused (as it can if I drink it whilst having sex), curling up against him and kissing his chest, putting my arm around him and feeling his do the same, a whisper of 'goodnight rare and radiant one' from him the last thing I hear before my eyelids flutter shut and I instantly fall asleep. However I am only allowed to sleep for three hours, before the presence of his mouth between my legs wakes me again. So this evening I've found out I'm the rarest supernatural creature on the planet, sipped on a glass of very, very good glass of red, and been given hours upon hours of mind blowing pleasure. It's not been bad for a Thursday I suppose.

**Authors note - Thank you for the continued interest and reviews! Keep 'em coming! I enjoy hearing what you think of it :D xxx**


	25. Chapter 25

Eric's POV.

'Ah...ahhhh, mmmmmm, don't expect me to move...for at least...ten minutes...I can't feel my legs right now'. Those are the out of breath words a post orgasmic Tyra just spoke to me before her head thudded down on my chest, after an impressive two hours of being on top of me. Well, I think that is what she just said. My head is too foggy with my own post orgasmic clouds of rapture to really concentrate on anything other than how incredible the sex we've been sharing for the last three hours has been; since I decided to wake her up with my tongue. A tongue that like the rest of me is now very, very tired from making sure the beautiful, sweat drenched woman astride me right now is nothing short of fully satisfied.

'So are these beautiful legs of yours still dead?' I ask her a few minutes later as I stroke said beautiful legs.

'About as much as you are, yes' she replies, looking down at me, still slightly out of breath and very dishevelled, but still so gorgeous. Even with smudged makeup and messy hair she's still very radiant.

'Then I shall have to carry to the shower I think we both need' I reply, getting up with her in my arms and doing just that, heading through to the bathroom and into my huge corner shower, turning on the water and then carefully placing her down on the floor. I have to laugh a little when her legs start to wobble, and she puts her arms around my neck to keep herself steady. And once her legs have stopped quivering so violently she's able to let go, shampooing her hair and allowing me to wash the rest of her while she does, piercing my fingertip with one of my fangs and trailing it across every bite mark and knife wound on her, preventing her beautiful skin from being the subject of permanent scars which I hate to see on women, tattoos or otherwise. I much prefer the clean look. And once we're both clean and dry we head back to bed, actually making it under the covers this time and spending this portion of the early morning locked in discussion rather than locked around each other in sexual abandon.

'How are you adjusting to your new found supernatural status then?' I ask her, watching her sitting in the middle of the bed and combing her damp hair.

'To be honest, I don't really feel any different. And I know what I am is rare and important, certainly to you, but I just don't really feel all that affected by it to truthful. Is that wrong of me? Should this be something that stirs my excitement more?' she asks me, wincing as the comb breaks through a knotted clump of hair.

'I don't think there is a standard textbook reaction to knowing what you are. If you hadn't have been wiped out it would have been something you would have learned from your mother, how to correctly harness your abilities and conduct yourself in the noble manner associated with Wolverina's. Not that I don't consider your manner to be anything less than that, but you would have known from birth what you were, and therefore it would have been something you were naturally accustomed to. I must say, discovering this has made me begin to think about something, namely your mother's murder. You see, Wolverina's pass on that gene to their daughters, it's exclusively a female trait. So I do wonder if her unsolved murder was because of this, whoever killed off all the other Wolverina's saw to her demise too. But that wouldn't explain why you were left alive, and it also doesn't explain the fact that your kind has been extinct for so many years, so your mother and her predecessors just couldn't have been Wolverina, they'd have met the same end. And as I believe, your paternal grandmother on her side lived to quite an age did she not?' I reply, watching Tyra begin to braid her long hair now all tangles have been removed successfully by her meticulous combing.

'Yes, she was eighty eight when she died, and that was on liver cancer, nothing suspicious. Which leaves a massive blank to be drawn once more over how the hell I can actually be what I am, because also do you remember that I told you last night my mother had a massive fear of dogs? Well it all stems from her neighbours' dog biting her when she was a little girl, not badly but enough to draw a little blood and make her frightened of them for life, so if she did carry the Wolverina gene surely the dog wouldn't have done that' she replies, while I nod in agreement.

'A very insightful observation, and indeed not, she wouldn't have been bitten by that dog if she was what you are. It wouldn't have happened. Which leads me to the only conclusion I can think of, and that is to contact Agnes, for that vampire will hold the answers to so many of our questions, I know she will. She's an expert on your kind as I iterated to you last night' I tell her, welcoming her into my arms as she lies down beside me, resting her chin on my chest.

'You think she'll know why I've suddenly appeared after so many years? And also, do you think she'll even give you the time of day, well, night I suppose, to actually hear you out on the subject?' she asks me.

'That I just do not know. Agnes is immensely wise because of her age naturally, but I'm unsure if she could even begin to find an answer to such a phenomenon. And as for whether or not she would even discuss it with me, well, it's only nine in the evening in Norway, so now is a good a time as ever to try that out. I just need to contact someone who's a little less hostile in attitude towards me first to even get her telephone number, Philip Bjorn the vampire king of Finland being that someone' I reply, excusing myself to get out of bed and retrieve my cell where of course his number is stored.

'So why do they have kings and queens of countries over there, and only states over here? Because of how big the USA is?' she asks me.

'Yes, exactly that reason. Now if you'll excuse me' I tell her, scrolling through the contact list on my cell and hitting call when I reach Philip's private cell line. It doesn't take him long to answer, and (to Tyra's ears) the call to go something like this-

'Good evening, Eric Northman speaking...I am well thank you, I trust you are the same...good to hear, listen I need a favour from you Philip, a contact for Agnes Bynhild...no I have not changed my mind over her proposition...yes I am prepared for the fact she will probably hang up on me...yes I'm very much aware of the grudge she can hold, but this matter is of the upmost importance and I'm prepared for her reaction to be unwelcoming...okay yes...thank you Philip'. I type out the digits of her telephone number into my cell as he recites them to me, and then end the call before he can begin to ask me too many questions. He's extremely nosey like that, as well as being way too friendly for a vampire for my liking. He's almost like softened down caricature of a vampire, no longer feeding from humans, respecting them with the same level of fondness as he would fellow vampires. But then again at three hundred he is young; no doubt he'll find them as nauseating as I when he reaches my age.

'Right, and now to see how long it takes Miss Bynhild to hang up on me' I tell Tyra, after saving Agnes' number in my cell and then pressing call, watching Tyra watching me, her face full of nervous energy as she starts to chew the corner of her bottom lip in anticipation.

'Good evening, may I speak with her highness please? Yes, this is Eric Northman' I tell one of her servants who has answered the phone and immediately asks for a name.

'Certainly, one moment please Mr Northman and I will ask her majesty if it is possible to connect you to her office telephone' she speaks politely before I hear the line switch and then begin to ring out again.

'Changed your mind have you?' comes the sultry, yet too young to rouse sexual interest in me tones of the Norwegian queen down the line as she answers.

'No Agnes, my decision on that subject matter still remains an absolute no, but I...' is as far as I get before she predictably hangs up.

'Wow, you managed a whole fifteen seconds' Tyra chimes at my side, laughing behind her hand a little while I just frown. 'Eric, persistence is your number one tactic. Stop frowning at me and try again' she then adds, while I do just that and also decide there can be no gentle build up to what I have to tell her, that I have to (and to use a terribly human term) pull out the big guns straight away. Once again the same servant answers the telephone, but has a different message for me when I ask again to be put through to the queen.

'I'm very sorry Mr Northman, but her majesty asks that no more calls from you are put through to her this evening, or ever' I'm told.

'Tell her I have found a Wolverina here in Louisiana, and then ask her if she wants to persist in being so childish just because I will not fuck her in the face of such news' I drawl confidently in reply, hearing the servant gasp a little at having it put to her so bluntly, before excusing herself.

'I shall pass on the message to her majesty, but in slightly less crude terms Mr Northman. One moment please' she replies, leaving me waiting for about twenty seconds before I hear Agnes' voice once more.

'And how on earth have you managed to find a supernatural species that has been extinct for more than a thousand years exactly Eric? I feel already this is some sort of ruse being cooked up for an alternative purpose. Have you tested her?' she asks me, sounding a lot more curious now despite her disbelieving tone.

'Yes, and I can guarantee you one hundred percent that she is Wolverina. You can tear my fangs out of my gums with silver pliers if I'm lying too, an activity I know you would relish in' I reply.

'I'll be on a plane to Louisiana within the next forty eight hours. And when I arrive, I had better find what you've told me is true, or else a lot worse will be bestowed upon you than having your fangs ripped out. I don't enjoy leaving my palace or its grounds, lest of all my country, unless it is entirely necessary. Goodbye for now Eric' is all she says before the line goes dead with a click again.

'Well that seemed to be enough for her to get herself on a plane and come and witness you first hand. She informed me she will be leaving within the next two days. Agnes will never be any more precise than that, so now we play the waiting game until she arrives' I tell Tyra.

'Can I suggest that for now, we play the sleeping game? It is coming up to 6.30am after all' she tells me, stifling a small yawn.

'Of course, a very good idea' I tell her, watching her settle down next to me and drift off within minutes, my own tiredness not quite enough to send me to sleep too with everything I have revolving around inside my head. And so I lie there and watch her, and note to myself how this revelation is the first thing to really excite me and capture my interest so strongly since I've been a vampire. When you've been around for as long as I have, life can become quite dull. You don't find much enjoyment in the world around you or the people in it, because you've been there, done that, brought several t shirts and in general nothing is new to your eyes. Except for now of course, for the woman lying next to me right now sleeping soundly is very new to me, of course since I've only known her for six months and been involved with her for two. And my interest in her has started to go beyond what she is, and who she is to me being my last living descendant. I actually find myself liking having her around more, whether that is because of the blood I suspect is bonding me to her slowly, or whether there is room in my heart and head for a woman in the long term romantic sense, and actual relationship, I am yet to clearly decipher. I do know for one thing that the thought of not having her around isn't pleasant, but yet when I think of her being the only woman I will be faithful to until she dies, well, I still do not think it's something I am capable of doing. And she is worth more than what I feel I am capable of giving right now too, a 'for this moment in time at least, we have something' promise.

But then I think on it, and I know that Tyra accepts me for exactly who and what I am, and because of how rare that is to find in a woman in itself, thus far I have actually remained faithful to her when no formal bonds of a relationship exist. And of course I have received many, many offers, but each of them I have flatly turned down in favour of her. She even said to me once that she never expected me to remain true to her in a sexual sense, that she didn't consider it to be in my nature and she accepted that. But upon hearing that I felt it quite the challenge, to show her that perhaps she doesn't know me as well as she thinks she does; that I can be capable of monogamy. But, for how long I just do not know, and I do not ever want her to expect something of me that I cannot promise her in the long term sense, and the more we become involved with each other the more I suspect that she will change that opinion. Or perhaps I'm second guessing her as much as I know she does with me. It's very hard, all this. Not since Ida have I devoted myself to one woman entirely. Could it be different with Tyra? History does dictate that as a Wolverina she is perfect for me, an ideal mate, could that perfection hold my interest enough to care for her even when she's old and grey? To still find interest in being with her and her alone until the day she dies, and furthermore, could I handle the possibility of allowing myself to (dare I even think it) love her and then have to watch nature, often life's cruellest injustice, take her away from me? Love is a word that I can only just about extend to Pam, could I actually love a woman in the way I loved Ida? I just do not know. Is it even worth it?

But I do know one thing for sure, when I drink of her that is exactly what I want, her blood effects me so strongly and pulls me in so close that the thought of being parted from her drives me to distraction. It is why I am so adamant not to drink from her again, until I can learn more about vampire/Wolverina blood bonds, information I hope Agnes will be forthcoming with. I can feel it grow even by just biting and not drinking from her, and licking blood from the knife wounds I covered her in last night, but I do know for blood bonds to efficiently work it has to be done a certain number of times (depending on the supernatural creatures in question), and does have to be a proper intake of blood from an artery, not just enough to wet the tongue. How I've had the self control not to feed from her thus far I do not know, and it does take everything I have within me not to drink from her when I bite her, and it gets more and more difficult to control that as the days pass.

'I was right, you are challenging me' I whisper to her, stroking a few wisps of hair away from her face and kissing her cheek, before I settle down and am finally able to turn my thoughts off and join her in pleasant and long lasting slumber.

Tyra's POV.

'Well I'll say one thing mister, being involved with you definitely fucks up my body clock' I tell a sleeping Eric, at around 3.30pm the following afternoon after I've got up, switched on the lamp in the far corner and gotten back into bed with him, resting his arm back across my middle where it previously was. He won't wake for another few hours yet, but my body has decided eight hours is more than enough sleep for me, even though I feel like I could easily sleep for another three hours my head just will not allow me to drop off again. No matter how lovely and warm and cosy I am next to the big vampire by my side, his skin warmed through being next to me all night (well, day). But still, I'm in no rush to actually get up, so just lie there and stroke his forearm where it rests across my stomach, turning to just about be able to see him since his face is crushed into a pillow. I then reach over to the nightstand and grab my cell, deciding to flip through my emails while I'm still in the stages of thinking about getting up, not actually wanting to do it. And it's when I take in today's date that I realize something; it's been exactly two months today since Eric and I became involved with one another. I cannot say the R (relationship) word just yet as that is not what we are. Right now we're two supernatural creatures trying to see if we fit with one another, and so far I do have to confess; he fits well with me. And no, look at that dirty mind of yours, assuming I'm on about how well his cock fits me (don't lie! I know what you were thinking over there!). No, I'm on about how well he fits into my life, how I've finally found someone who I actually really enjoy being with.

There's so much I like about Eric, and okay I'll be honest and say sex is very high up on that list, because when he takes you to bed it truly is an unforgettable experience. He's thorough, he invests in your pleasure as much as he does his own (sometimes even more so), and he's capable for going for six hours or more (not that every time we have sex it does last for that long I hasten to add) and he's so, so passionate. Another thing I like best about him is how he never wastes words, never talking unless what he has to say is important, interesting or relevant. So many people feel the need to chatter on and on about unimportant, irrelevant bullshit and it's always been something that's annoyed me; so I enjoy how concise he is. Also, I love his intelligence. He'd be smart as hell even if he wasn't a vampire believe me. One time over at my place I was taking one of those online IQ tests, a proper one not one of these silly Facebook ones too I must add (I don't even have a Facebook account, I have no time for cyberspace networking) and after I had done it he sat and took it too. I got a commendable 130, he got 170. He's seriously intelligent isn't he? And then there's the fact that because he's a vampire and a very old one at that, he's seen so much, known so much, lived through so many ages and watched the world and society grow. To hear his stories of times gone by is becoming one of my favourite pastimes. He's so very fascinating; I don't think I could ever become bored of him. But it's that thought that leads me to a very big 'but' in all of this. And that is that no matter how much I like him, how much he interests me and how one day I would like to refer to him as mine and mine alone; I do not expect or think that day will ever come. And if it does, I know it'll be a relationship with an indefinite expiration date.

He's told me before that even though he enjoys my company he just does not know if being in a relationship is something he'd be capable of doing long term, and I do not blame him for that either; having a relationship with a woman is something he's never done as a vampire, only as a human and as we know that was a very, very long time ago. But I do have to say so far he isn't doing a bad job of it at all. I'm not exactly a high maintenance kind of woman, I do not expect to be wined and dined or treated like a princess, which I think has helped somewhat. But still, I do have to wonder how long this will last for, how long I will be interesting to him for. Because I think that's what it boils down to most with him, not knowing whether he will find me interesting enough to commit himself to long term. And if he does, how can I be sure it's me he really wants, whether he wants me for who I am, and not what I am. Could I be content in knowing the only reason he's with me is because I'm Wolverina? I keep asking myself if I'm enough for him, but also I must question the following; is he enough for me? Is a relationship with no promises toward its longevity something I could enter happily, be content with? I've been very considerate of his feelings, his adjustment to this. I have hardly considered my own really; I've just gone with the flow. But I do think now is the time to decide what I want, and what I need, and then discuss it with him instead of us hanging in limbo like we currently are. Alas, right now is probably not the greatest of times to do this though, with the threat of Russell Edgington reappearing suddenly (Eric suspects strongly his thirst for revenge against him will not go away as quickly as he's gone off the radar) and queen Agnes' visit impending, now isn't the right time. And I know this for sure...or do I?

A loud bang on the door rouses me from my deep train of thought, and Eric from his sleep, sitting bolt upright and pushing his hair out of his eyes.

'Yes?' he calls, before rubbing his eyes and then giving me a kiss on the cheek and a small smile, while I pull the sheet up around myself to cover my nakedness to Pam, who's blur stops by the side of the bed, laptop in her hands, and a look of urgency on her face.

'You both need to see this, it hit the headlines this morning' she tells us, passing the small white laptop to Eric's outstretched hand, and then perching her pink satin pyjama clad self on the edge of the bed, while Eric presses play on the video on the CNN world news web page, the following report being broadcast to us on the little screen-

'And back to our top news this morning, the American Vampire league, also known as the AVL have confirmed this morning that terrorist vampire Russell Edgington has been captured and remanded in their custody. Edgington, the 2,800 year old vampire who brutally slaughtered a newscaster live on air, was said to be found in the early hours of the morning in a safe house in Jackson, Mississippi, and immediately arrested by AVL officials. AVL spokeswoman Nan Flanagan had the following to say in the hours following the arrest-

'I can confirm that Russell Edgington was arrested and detained at just after 2.30am pacific time, after a tip off lead to his capture at a safe house just outside of Jackson, Mississippi. At this point the AVL are reviewing information and evidence gathered concerning not only the murder of Jerry McCafferty, newscaster for the TBBN network, but also his crimes within the vampire community, all of which he will go on trial for. I cannot comment any further at this time'

But there are a few things she did confirm, to Eric at least when after we'd took a shower together and got dressed, when he called her after I went out in search of something to eat, returning to the office and chewing down half a packet of mints on my way before I kiss him. If I've eaten anything he absolutely cannot stand to kiss me; he only just about manages to without pulling a sour face if I've drank a cup of coffee. He doesn't mind if it's alcohol too much because he says it's the one thing he misses from being a human. 'Believe me, if I could still drink now, I'd be able to drink Keith Richards under the table. No problem' he once said to me. Yikes.

'So what did she tell you? Whatever it is, you don't exactly look thrilled about it' I say to him, walking around the desk and easing myself up to sit on it in front of him, watching him turn to me and rest his hands on my thighs.

'I'm in half minds over his arrest to be truthful. On the one hand he's out of the way now, Nan made it very clear that this was the beginning of the damage control in the face of the vampire rights amendment, and that he wouldn't be walking free any time soon. So this means you're safe from him. But on the other hand she did tell me the maximum punishment for his crimes would only be the removal of his fangs and ten years imprisonment in a silver lined coffin. That is not the justice I sought for my family; for our family Tyra. Not enough by far' he tells me, his face blank as he stares past me, and then his beautiful blue eyes suddenly fix on me. I watch lines forming across his head as he frowns, and then rests it down on my legs where I begin to stroke his hair.

'I agree with you, it's not enough by far. But the AVL can't charge him with that can they? And I know that by capturing him themselves it means you cannot get what you promised your father, the vengeance Russell more than deserves. But it is better than nothing at all, better than him being out there somewhere on the down low, ready to come and reap his revenge against you' I remind him gently, looking down to see him nodding.

'Yes, you are of course correct. There is nothing more I can do about him now, life must carry on. And at least I can be safe in the knowledge he won't harm you, that was a primary concern' he replies, rising from his seat and putting his arms around my shoulders, hugging me tightly and kissing me atop my head. This is something else I've noticed about Eric, how his actions always speak so much louder than his words. I suppose that's yet another thing I must ask myself if I can be comfortable with.

**Authors note - BIG, BIG thanks to the lovely ladies who tirelessly review this (you know who you are!), please keep those reviews coming, I love hearing what you all think of it! And thanks to each and every silent reader I receive too :) I love that this is being enjoyed, you have no idea how much so :) xx**


	26. Chapter 26

Tyra's POV.

So, life returns to normal then. Well, normal of sorts. Russell is no longer a threat to us, since just yesterday he was put to trial over his crimes, and as Nan advised Eric he was sentenced to his fangs being removed and then locked into a silver lines casket, something he actually oversaw personally since he was there at the trial to give evidence (in relation to the murder of the magister). They sure did work fast with it since he was only captured the previous day, but then again Nan Flanagan did express that the AVL were taking the damage control of this very, very seriously. And so he arrived back in Louisiana literally just before dawn, swooping in through the window of my home and settling down into bed with me to tell me all about it, and then use up the time between then and me getting up to give me no less than twelve orgasms. Yes, impressive. And so earlier on I left him sleeping to head over to visit Anna and the baby and take them out shopping (Eric kindly lent me his Jag while mine is in the workshop being fixed), which brings me up to now, traipsing around Shreveport mall while Anna hunts down bigger clothes for the squealing bundle currently in my arms. She's been a nightmare all damn morning, and since Anna is so busy trying to be quick in her choices of bigger clothes for this tiny wailing baby, knowing that with children and shopping I reach my tolerance limit very quickly when I'm the one left holding the baby. As queen Victoria of England put it, we are not amused. Until auntie Tyra goes into the baby bag and pulls out a bottle to pacify little miss mouth that is. And then, the silence is gilded in platinum, let alone golden.

'That's better, I actually quite like you when you're quiet' I tell her, patting her back with the hand holding her, and remembering to tip the bottle correctly so she doesn't get gassy with the other. All this baby stuff does make my head hurt; give me simple long division any day. I can cope with that. Just like I can cope with the fact that as soon as my dear friend is done buying clothes for the little one (who she sits back in her stroller after her feed) my hands are free and we're heading in the direction of the biggest department store here in the mall in search of clothes big enough for us to wear. I decide on two killer items; killer heels and killer underwear, and a couple of other bits and pieces I need, chatting to Anna as we move from section to section about the vampire who's benefit the underwear is for in the first place...

'So, are you two any closer to actually being in a proper relationship?' she asks me, while looking at a lovely long lilac dress I happen to think would really suit her, but leaving it in favour of the red one on the next rail.

'We haven't spoken about it to be honest; I think he's still getting used to having someone as close as I am to him being in his life again. It has been a long time for him, like, a thousand years long' I reply, to which my friend nods.

'So you two are close then?' she asks me a little apprehensively.

'Yeah, I guess so. He's affectionate and considerate towards me, and respectful too. But I guess that's mainly because I'm very far flung family' I reply. I did tell Anna and Dmitri, Lafayette and my parents too about our family tree link; Eric didn't mind the people closest to me knowing that as long as they kept it quiet (and really, who are they going to tell?), but my newly found supernatural status is still a very hushed subject, even though Russell is now locked up safely in the confines of a silver casket there are other threats out there to me, other vampires who may try and take me hostage to use my blood for their own gain, something Eric says he will remain cautious of 'forever' as he put it when I asked him.

'You don't seem too certain about any of this, and to be brutally honest Tyra that does concern me. I know you like him and you think you are well suited and all, and it's nice having someone you are very, very distantly related to in your life as well, but I think you're worth more than a vampire who can't or wont even address you as his girlfriend' she replies.

'Well number one he doesn't like the terms boyfriend or girlfriend, so he'd never call me that anyway, and number two I do plan on speaking to him about it, when the time is right' I reply, trying to get myself out of this conversation as fast as I can. I love Anna to death, I really do, but she does like to press matters if she's not happy with them.

'And when will the time be right?' she asks me, suddenly turning around and taking my hands in hers. 'You know I'm saying this because I care, and I want the best for you, don't you?' she then adds.

'Sure I do, but...there's things going on in his world right now that are complex, and I don't want to trouble him with this too when right now I'm perfectly content with what we have' I reply, watching her nodding but seeing in her eyes she doesn't believe me.

'Okay, well, I just hope the time will be right soon. I don't like the fact he's leaving you hanging in the balance over what it is you are to him. Not one bit' she replies, before continuing to look through the sale item pieces of jewellery we've arrived by, a vast square white table covered in marked down trinkets.

'I know hon, I really do. But I'm fine, really I am. He made me come twelve times this morning anyway, and believe me that makes up for what he cannot offer right now' I reply with a small laugh, my smile growing wider when I remember how intense each orgasm was.

'And with that you've made me insanely jealous!' she announces, laughing too. 'If he's as good looking as you say he is, then I'm doubly insanely jealous' she adds afterwards as we make our way over to the register, and the long, long line in front of it. Reason number one I prefer online shopping; no waiting in a huge queue for your purchases.

'I would say you could judge for yourself, but he'll be asleep still by the time we get back to mine, and probably will be right up until you leave. He sleeps for longer when we're on daylight saving time, at least when he's at my place and can't move around unless I've drawn the blinds and curtains, and even then when it's very bright it's still risky that he'll get burned' I reply.

'Oh well, just us three girls it is then' she replies, in reference to the fact she's of course coming to chill out at my place for a few hours this afternoon before I take her home again. But it's a shame that little Myra cannot have the same plan as us to chill out, since she begins to cry and cry once more while we're in the middle of the queue for the register, and doesn't stop after we've left. Nor when we arrive at the next store, or the one after that, or the one after that one too, meaning we have to abandon the rest of our shopping spree (to my delight) and head off back to my place so Anna can see if she can settle the little one off to sleep in much more tranquil, quiet surroundings than Shreveport mall. And on the drive home I do hope she'll tire herself out and stop crying, since I know the shrill sound will more than likely wake Eric. And when his sleep is disturbed, he's not happy about it in the slightest. Sadly though, by the time we do reach my home Myra's squealing still hasn't ceased, leaving me to feel very nervous over what Eric is going to make of having his precious sleep disturbed by a very loud baby. We've only been in the house for five minutes when I do discover his reaction.

'Are all the blinds closed?' he texts me from the bedroom.

'Yes you're safe' I shout to him in reply over the din of the babies cries after I've closed the only remaining open ones in the lounge, and then see my bedroom door fly open and a very unimpressed looking vampire walk out and straight over to Anna.

'Anna, Eric. Eric, Anna, and Myra' I say in way of introduction. And his answer, well let's just say even though I don't expect him to tell Anna he's pleased to meet her or anything like that, but what he tells her is the last thing I expect him to say.

'Give me the child' he tells her firmly, making his face a little less hostile when she looks nervous at the prospect. 'Anna I shall not harm her, just give her to me' he says, not sounding amused but not angry either at the same time. And so after giving me another nervous glance to which my face silently tells her 'its okay', she passes Myra to him. And it would seem that even though it's a thousand years since he's held a child, he hasn't forgotten as he holds her carefully and expertly, beginning to undress her as he walks over to the couch.

'It is a good thing at least one adult present understands why you're so upset little human' he tells her quietly, stripping off all of her tiny items of clothing until she's just in her diaper, and then lying down on the couch and holding her to his chest. And then as if by magic, the screaming stops instantly.

'I'm swapping you Dmitri for him' Anna whispers into my ear, and I turn and can't help but smile to see the look of shock on her face, hardly able to believe the huge and temperamental vampire she's heard so much about is now lying there with her daughter on his chest while she makes contented gurgling sounds, his huge hand splayed out over her back to secure her, making her look even tinier than she already is while he closes his eyes and looks more peaceful than he did a few moments ago. I suspect this is because of the quietness that's been restored, not because he's happy to be holding Myra. And it would seem my suspicion is correct too.

'I have to say Eric; you don't exactly strike me to be a fan of babies' Anna tells him, sitting down in the armchair next to the couch he's residing on.

'You'd be right, I'm not. But I am a big fan of peace and quiet. Next time your daughter is running a high temperature it'd be a good idea for you not to cover her in the garments that will only raise that temperature further. She's quiet now because my own body temperature is that of a stone, so I've cooled her down' he replies, opening his eyes to look over at Anna.

'How could you tell though, without touching her before?' she asks him with interest, looking a little less scared of him now.

'Because I went through this with my own children, I recognised the pitch of her cries and knew she was uncomfortable, and when I took her from you I could detect a lot clearer than you that she was too hot since my body temperature is almost zero' he replies, before resting his head back again and closing his eyes once more, while Anna just looks at me with amazement, and then smiles fondly as a very happy looking Myra. And happy and content is how she remains for a further ten minutes of being held there in total silence, until Eric speaks again.

'Right, since peace has been restored now my work here is done. I'm going back to sleep' he tells Anna, getting up and passing Myra back to her and then walking over to me, giving me a flicker of a smile and a kiss before he heads back into my bedroom, leaving behind a thankfully still silent baby.

'I thought you said vampires fired blanks? How can he have had children exactly?' she asks me, while I take up the space his long body has just filled, pulling off my flip flops and giving my tired feet a rub.

'He had five when he was a human' I reply, watching her looking at me with interest. 'And he lost them all, and his wife to fever, which was a big cause of death back then of course. So it's no wonder he remembered what to do with little one over there, even if he did look unimpressed at having to settle her' I add, watching Anna nodding vigorously.

'Nope, he didn't look too pleased about it did he? And I have to say it's surprised me, to hear about him being married with kids' she replies, stroking Myra's back softly.

'As he said, just because it isn't what he wants now as a vampire, it doesn't mean he didn't want that kind of domesticity as a human' I reply, watching her smiling.

'And it's so sad what happened to his family, over something that we can cure with penicillin and the like today, a real sad shame' she states, while I nod in reply. 'So, bearing all that in mind, I suppose you're right. He would need time to adjust to having another woman in his life, especially considering what happened to the last' she then adds, while I put a finger to my lips and shake my head, grabbing my cell and punching out a message for her.

'He can hear every word of this, so I don't want to talk about me and him when he's in the next room' I type and show to her, while she takes my cell and types out a message of her own.

'Even if we whisper?' it reads.

'Especially if we whisper' I type back, making her laugh softly. And with that Anna seems to be a little more at ease with the whole Eric idea, after finding him to be probably not as bad as she expected upon meeting him. We go on to enjoy a nice afternoon, with me making us a late lunch of pasta with a tomato sauce, about the only thing I will ever prepare in my kitchen (pasta doesn't smell when you cook it, and tomatoes perfume the air more than pollute it) before running my two favourite ladies back home, doing a quick grocery shop and getting back to my place at roughly 6pm, fanning myself with a copy of the local paper as I walk back through the door and once again curse the fact I cannot afford to have central air installed yet. It is something I'm saving my hard earned dollars for though, since Bon Temps in summertime isn't exactly the coolest place on earth; and it's only early June. But, until then I do have one thing nice and cool...

... 'Ahhhh, better' I think to myself after stripping to my underwear and climbing into bed with Eric, resting myself down on top of him gently and hoping I don't wake him. I might just be able to get away with it if I'm very quiet and still, since it's only really loud noises that wake him.

'Poontang how many mice have you been eating recently? You feel a lot heavier than usual' he says to me after a couple of moments of me thinking I'd gotten away with using him as a vampire cooling system. Of course he jokes in reference to the fact that whenever he is in my bed and I'm not, my cats place is lying asleep on his back. I'm actually surprised I didn't find her in here with him. And I love how he doesn't care at all; it shows he does have rare moments of compassion towards other creatures.

'Sorry, but it's too fucking warm. Let me take advantage of you for five minutes at least, because this feels so good' I tell him blissfully, my body feeling like it's having a cool breeze being gently blown into each pore.

'First Myra, now you; never has my vampirism been violated in this way. And by women!'He fumes in light joke, turning over underneath me sending me flying off his back, pulling me back to him when he's lying on it.

'Sorry she woke you' I tell him, before kissing the centre of his chest.

'So am I, but she's just a child, it isn't her fault. Unbearably loud and irritating she may be, but it's her only form of communication' he replies, showing two sides of his nature perfectly in those two sentences; the tolerant and the intolerant, so far at away each end of the spectrum but yet in perfect balance. That's another thing I like about him. Contradictive he may be, but it's balanced, justified. I guess you have to know him to understand what I mean. 'I suppose in a way it was a good job she did, because before I went back to sleep I saw I had a voicemail from Agnes, she'll be arriving at the club tomorrow evening at around midnight. Convenient since we're closed tomorrow of course' he then adds, while I feel my heart do a little somersault in my chest. I must confess I am excited to meet her, the vampire who will be able to tell me more about what I am. I do feel slight trepidation too though, considering what I have in my bed is what she wants in hers; I'm not too sure how she might react to that fact, whether she'll take an instant dislike to me purely because of that. Something I do voice to Eric at once.

'Yes, I did wonder the same myself. Vampires have the capacity to be very jealous creatures, and since she knows she cannot lure me away either then this could be something we could face. But, I am clinging to the fact that because she respected your kind so highly, that when she meets you she'll be so pleased that she will not care about anything else. And also even though she has a fiery temper, she's actually quite gentle in nature surprisingly enough' he replies. I hope he's right too; I have enough dealing with his temper; imagine that four times as strong? Yikes is the word I'm looking for here. But I put that to the back of my head, and after having some bedroom cuddles I head out in the direction of my office to catch up on some work, while he heads into bathroom once I've drawn the curtains in there to prevent any light coming in. It is more difficult in summer for vampires, since the days are lighter for longer. But thankfully it can be overcome if you're very careful. And even though I do love the sunshine, I don't mind blocking it out and using lamps to light the house when he's here, even if it does mean I'm going to receive a higher electricity bill. Believe me, when he walks around my house shirtless or in even less (he likes being naked), I know it's worth it.

And figuring since I'm going to be busy with the impending visit from the Norwegian vampire queen tomorrow, I really put my head down and get working on my accounts, while at the same time I look into classified ad prices on the internet and in the local papers too, deciding since I've lost a couple of clients recently (a few vampires who's IRS investigations are now over, and sadly a few other firms who've gone out of business due to the economy) I really do need to be bringing in some extra cash. So I have to spend money to make some, such is life really. It must be nice to be like Eric, who even though I have no clue what he is worth (his business yes, his personal fortune no) does have a very large disposable income, and no financial worries whatsoever. But that's not going to be my fate since I will not live long enough to amass that kind of personal fortune I just have to put my nose to the grindstone and work my butt off. Sad but true huh? I'm so thankful that during this hard time I have been able to manage to keep my head above water, considering I've made unwise choices like spoiling myself with a brand new car last year (which the repayments on can be tight sometimes) I am surprised I've managed as well as I have. Then again, I do work very hard and do forsake a social life to some extent because of it. Like tonight as soon as the sun sets and Eric is ready to head back to the club I stay behind to finish my work, telling him if I can stay awake and work into the night I'll get a cab to the club (since he's taking his car back with him) in the early hours so I can go to bed with him at least. And after putting my head down and hitting the coffee, that is just what I do, taking a little break between 2am and 3am before doing another hour of work and then calling it a night (well, a morning I suppose) and heading off to grab some clothes and my other essentials before calling a cab to take me back to Eric. And even though I'm tired, wearing very little makeup and thanks to the whole package of Oreo's I demolished (I can never stop at just one) I have a nice bulging belly; at least he still thinks I'm gorgeous.

'Morning' I tell him as I sit down next to him on the stage, looking very out of place in my white dress amongst so many black clad punters, most of whom are all in a various state of Saturday night/Sunday morning disarray. All human too since the sun is literally just rising now, Pam's door duties taken over by Deborah to oversee everyone leaves in an orderly fashion since of course the sunlight means she can't work the door.

'I like that dress on you very much. Is it a new purchase?' he asks me.

'Yes, just like the underwear underneath it is too' I reply, watching his eyebrow rise with interest.

'Then I feel I must take you downstairs to see if I approve of that as much as I do the dress' he tells me, getting up and taking my hand to lead me down to his home, where I slip my shoes off at the door and then pad through barefoot with him, watching him sit down on the bed and give me an expectant look. My answer to this look is of course to slowly and carefully slide each strap of my dress off my shoulders, over my boobs and hips, and then let it slide down my legs and puddle at the floor, revealing the white and silver underwear I told him about.

'So do they meet your approval Mr Northman?' I ask him, walking close to him and having him reach out to grasp my hips either side when I'm right in front of him.

'Mmm, they do. This much' he tells me, kissing my stomach and taking my hand to press it against the enormous erection tenting his pants. And that ladies and gentleman, is the desired effect of fifty dollars very well spent, and I'm glad I am in a very sexy set of underwear right now too, for what he's about to tell me at least.

'Oh by the way, Agnes is not the only visitor we have this weekend. If you will remember a while ago you told me you enjoyed being watched, well tonight I decided to do something about that. Fabien, you can stop lurking now' he tells me, still kissing my stomach as I hear a sound over from the other end of the apartment, and look over to see a tall, slender vampire with waist length black hair reveal himself, and then go and sit in a chair place against the wall opposite the bed.

'It's nice to meet you Tyra, and it'll be even nicer to sit back and watch Eric sexually annihilate you too' he tells me slowly, a smile curving his lips that I'm only just about able to make out since he's hidden half in the shadows. I turn back and look at Eric, and all I can say is the look on my face must be quite the delighted picture, for the way he smiles at me says it all.

'You've really, really outdone yourself this time' I tell him and his huge 'didn't I do well' grin.

'No, that's yet to come. Pun intended' he tells me, before grabbing me by the front of my bra and pulling me roughly to him, claiming my lips in a kiss while his hands roam all over me; much like the eyes of Fabien over there in the darkness. Something tells me I'm about to have a very, very good morning to come. And yes, I intended the pun.

**Authors note - Once again ladies, I am THRILLED you are all enjoying it! And thank you to my three regular reviewers and big thanks to new reviewer Kilera, keep those reviews coming girls and I shall do the same with the chapters! In the writing I'm up to chapter 37 and the end is still nowhere in sight, so I think this one is set to run for a while!xx**


	27. Chapter 27

Eric's POV

'I must say I enjoyed that immensely Eric. I shall leave you both to sleep now, thank you once again for providing me with a casket' Fabien tells me as he gets up from the chair he's been sitting in for the last two hours watching Tyra and I fuck each other to oblivion and back. I give him a nod, not wanting to say too much in case I disturb the beauty asleep on my chest and watch him slowly exit my apartment, heading to the basement to where there's a casket awaiting him to reside in until the light is lost once more. And after I've watched the door shut behind him, I look down at Tyra and smile. She enjoyed this morning so much she's exhausted herself into instant sleep, as soon as she came for the last time I knew it wouldn't be long before her eyelids would begin to become heavy, and a few moments after that her stillness against me indicated she had fallen asleep.

'Well, no one can deny you of being able to give a very good performance to an audience' I whisper to her, smiling and stroking her hair, enjoying a moment that should be one of pure contentment yet one I feel nerves through. Yes, you read that correctly too. And for the reason why I feel nervous? I've made an error, and a big one. I've confessed to you before that I have no idea how I have the strength to bite her and not feed from her, and this morning the urge just became too much for me to control for a moment, and I took in a mouthful of her blood; which pulled me so close to her it's now made me worry in case I have formed some kind of bond with her. Once again, I'm plagued by the feelings of dread at even the thought of letting her out of my sight, out of my bed even, feeling all those same familiar feelings of internal warmth and peacefulness I have when I've drank of her in the past too. It's very concerning to me, it is something I just cannot let myself do again, something I cannot allow myself to enjoy either. I must not let this become a weakness; the way I know I am starting to regard her is a weakness enough, as I feel her becoming more to me than just my descendant or my bookkeeper, or just the woman I enjoy casual sex with. But as I've stated before, making this anything more than what it currently is, well, it still requires a considerable amount of further thought. Even though as a Wolverina she should be enough to draw me in and want her as mine forever (or rather, for as long as she's alive) I am not that shallow. I will not promise her what I do not know I am capable of giving her purely because of what she is, the valuable price tag upon her head; the fact she is what most vampires would tear out their own fangs for to have as a companion. But such as I am, that alone cannot sell the idea of long lasting commitment to me after a thousand years of being anything but committed to everything but vampirism. It will indeed be interesting to hear what I will no doubt learn about blood bonds from Agnes when she arrives. If she will even acknowledge me properly of course that is...you can never tell with her if she's going to be your best friend or your worst enemy in certain situations. And like I said, she can hold a grudge. She has with me for the last three centuries after all. Time as they say, will tell. And for now I'm content to do what my body is screaming at me to do, shut my eyes and let it rest.

'Until we're awake' I tell Tyra, looking down at her one last time before kissing her head and letting mine fall back onto the pillow underneath it.

Tyra's POV.

'Mmmmmm, do we have to get up yet? Please say no' I sleepily tell Eric, knowing he's awake as I can feel him stroking my back. I must have rolled away from him in the night, because the last thing I remember is falling down onto his chest after an earth shattering orgasm, and remaining there since I fell asleep not too long afterwards. Right now I'm facing away from him, until I turn over and cuddle up to him, his chest warm from being pressed against me all day as we slept, his back the normal cool temperature as my hands find it and begin to stroke him too.

'It's not even six, so no we don't' he replies.

'That's what I like to hear' I tell him, moving my head up slightly to kiss him under his chin, the short stubble that'll always be there (vampires don't shave, it just grows back to exactly as it was by the next day so it's a pointless exercise. Pam still shaves her legs though, but that's a twice a day job for her the poor thing) and then watching as he moves his head and his mouth finds mine, giving me a proper good evening kiss.

'Well I think you impressed Fabien, when he left he had a smile so bright if I'd have plugged the mains into him he could have lit the whole bar for at least a week' he tells me with a proud smile. I'm glad I made him proud too, let him have some fun showing me off (even though of course he has not told Fabien what I am- the only other vampires who know are of course Agnes and Pam). And I must say, it was so erotic, glancing over every so often throughout our tryst to see Fabien's eyes all over us, and at certain points his hand all over himself too (or rather just his dick). Like I told Eric, I do get a thrill out of being watched, and I certainly enjoyed the encounter very, very much.

'I'm glad of that' I reply, my hands still stroking his back, happy to stay here in this lovely, warm comfy bed for a while. At least until the urge to go out and feed myself becomes too much to ignore, or the urge to go to the bathroom, whichever comes first. Turns out it's my bladder to give out first.

'Excuse me; can I not pee in peace now?' I ask Eric with humour in my voice when he interrupts me in the bathroom a few minutes after I've got out of bed at last.

'Just running us a bath' he replies, smiling and then heading back out again. I'm getting used to the smile now, even though I do often rib him about it and tell him he's doing 'that weird thing' he does in reference to it. But still, I do like to see him smile; he looks so much more handsome when he does. And as soon as I've flushed, back in comes Mr Handsome and into the bath he climbs, with me joining him once he's added some cool water so it's bearable for me (of course, because he's a vampire and hot water doesn't burn him he can stand a much hotter bath than me).

'Ahhhh, much better' I say as I sink into the water in front of him, sitting between his long legs and smiling when I feel his hands begin to knead my tired, sore shoulders.

'I feel we should enjoy this relaxing, quiet time while we can. Until our guest arrives' he tells me, his hands drifting down to the tops of my arms.

'So did she say where she's going to be staying then? I mean you haven't the room here for her have you?' I ask him, indeed wondering where she will reside whilst visiting Louisiana.

'She's informed me she will be staying at one of the more opulent, vampire friendly hotels just outside of Shreveport, since she travels with an entourage too so needs a considerable amount of room' he replies, while I nod. It certainly will be interesting to meet her, and I have to admit I am a little nervous about it too. And this is something I think Eric can sense, since he drops the subject and begins to ask me about other things instead. You'd be surprised about the things we talk about, what he asks me about. For instance, even though they aren't important at all to him he often asks how Anna and Dmitri are, the baby too, or how my work is going, remembering things like difficult jobs I have on, or stories I've told him about temperamental or overly fussy clients and then asks me about how the situation is now for example. And the little things he notices too.

'These do look very lovely' he tells me, holding one of my hands and examining my nails. I just had them re done recently and had a different twist on the traditional French manicure, with the tips painted dark red instead of white.

'Thank you, I like that they're a bit different' I reply. I like how he's complimentary towards me; he doesn't do it all that often which shows the sincerity behind the gestures. But after our bath I'm treated to another one after I've dried my hair, done my makeup and eased myself into a tight strapless calf length black dress and my cork soled wedge shoes again, standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom sliding my thin gold bangles back onto my right wrist.

'You look absolutely beautiful' he tells me, standing behind me resting his chin on my shoulder as he strokes my arms, smiling at my reflection while I lean back into his embrace and look into the mirror at us. Godric was right, we do make quite the couple. We're certainly very easy on the eye (I'm not modest like that, I don't profess to be the most gorgeous woman in the world, but I know I'm not ugly).

'Thank you, I thought I'd make the effort' I reply, turning and kissing the side of his neck while his hands slide down and into my dress, his hands playing with my breasts, growling hungrily into my ear.

'We have four hours until she'll be here, would you care to come back to bed for the duration of that time?' he asks me, his hands sliding lower and lower.

'If we have sex again it means I have to get ready all over again, so I think you can wait until the morning, as much as it does pain me to deny something so good' I reply, moving his hands and turning around, laughing a little when I see his moody face.

'And in turn I do not like being denied' he tells me, making a grab for me again.

'Then I have the perfect idea about how we can work this out' I tell him, taking his hand and leading him back out of the bathroom and over to the bed, pushing him down and then kneeling between his feet as I begin to undo the pants of the grey suit he's wearing, pulling his dick out and enclosing my mouth around it.

'I must agree, this idea is indeed perfect' he sighs as I feel his body lay back on the bed, and continue to pacify him for the next half an hour at least, until I have a cold jet of cum spilling into the back of my throat. Half an hour is quick for him too; I must be getting a lot better than I already consider myself to be at giving head then since it usually takes him about an hour of it to blow his load. Afterwards we head up to the bar and he attentively fetches me a bottle of wine and a glass, Pam joining us moments later looking very lovely in a pair of dark purple smart pants and strapless black top that her cleavage practically falls out of (yet she manages not to look cheap as always), sitting down next to me and once he's back with my wine engaging in conversation with Eric and I while we play the waiting game for the hours to come. And while we wait and talk I can't help but sit and wonder what to expect from the Norwegian vampire queen, how she'll be, what she'll look like, what she'll think of me and of course how she'll act towards Eric are just a few examples of what occupies my mind.

'Keep drinking, I like you more when you're drunk' Eric tells me, cutting through my thoughts as he re fills my glass. I look down at the time and realize how quickly the last four hours have gone as I notice it's close to midnight.

'Yes, we know why too' I reply, giving him a warning look as I watch him begin to smile.

'Oh this sounds very interesting' Pam pipes up, looking surprised when Eric begins to shake slightly with silent laughter, his hand partially covering his face as he laughs under his breath.

'She walked into the shower, and when I say that I mean she didn't open the door first' he replies, composing himself but still smiling at me while I wish I had something silver on me so I could burn him with it. It actually shocked the hell out of me at the time, because he laughed louder than I've ever heard him to before.

'I still can't believe how funny you found that' I tell him, watching Pam make an amused face at what she's just heard.

'Sometimes it's the simplest of humour that prompts laughter from a vampire. For me it was more the noise your head made as it hit the glass' he tells me, winding an arm around me while I recoil and try to push him away. 'Now, now, no violence' he then adds as I prod him with my elbow, making him grab my arm and bend it straight, and then kiss my cheek and just hold me close to him. And in that moment, just for that moment; whatever we have feels real. It was just a moment between me and him that didn't revolve around sex, a memory shared. He then looks over towards the door at the same time Pam does, and then there comes a knock a couple of seconds later which Eric gets up to go and answer.

'Here we go, time to prove your regal status Miss Wolverina' Pam says to me, reaching across the table for my hand and giving my fingers a quick squeeze. I must look nervous, because she's giving me her 'everything will be fine' look too. And then any questions over the queen and what she looks like are answered at least, as I see Eric walking back over to us with a tall dark haired male vampire, and after him...Miley Cyrus. Okay so not the real daughter of the legendary country and western singer, but if the youthful looking ancient vampire queen ever did have a doppelganger in the world, Miss Cyrus would be it. Already this makes it very hard to remember she's the oldest vampire on earth.

'Your majesty' Pam says with a little bow I copy as we stand, Agnes quickly rattling off a few words in Norwegian to her consort, him replying and then heading back towards the exit before she turns her attention back to us.

'Pamela how lovely to see you again, you were just a fledgling vampire when we last met of course. How beautiful you have become. And am I to assume this young lady here is our Wolverina?' she says, the last part of her sentence being thrown to her side where Eric stands.

'Yes, this is her' Eric replies, as I watch her deep brown eyes wander over me for a few moment, full of keen curiosity. And then, without word she reaches out and takes my hand in hers, small fingers dressed with dainty gold, platinum and diamond rings closing around mine to no doubt see for herself through feeling my energy. And then suddenly she begins to smile, and also rather shockingly bursts into tears.

'I cannot believe this is true! Oh my, I...I have mourned the passing of your kind for a thousand years, and here you are, a Wolverina! I never, ever imagined I would see one of you ever again' she cries, throwing her arms around me and making me pull the exact same shocked face Eric returns to me as we witness the queen become quite overcome by her emotions, and then just as quickly as she lost her composure, she regains it again while excusing herself for the outburst. Taking a tissue from her pocket she dabs her eyes and let's go of her bone crunching grasp around my shoulders, sniffing and clearing her throat.

'Very pleased to meet you your majesty' I tell her, watching her push her tissue back into her jacket pocket and then take a seat.

'Eric could I please trouble you for a bottle of True Blood, I feel quite overcome by all of this' she asks, with Eric nodding and asking her which she prefers. She answers him O negative and off he goes to fetch one while the three of us women take a seat around the table.

'Please, do call me Agnes. You too Pam. This is not my kingdom so I do not expect to be addressed under my title' she replies, slipping her arms out of her expensive looking black blazer and hanging it on the back of the chair. 'So then, please forgive me but I am yet to know your name' she then adds to me while retrieving a small gold cigarette case and a lighter from her pocket and laying them down on the table.

'Tyra Boden' I reply, just as Eric comes back with the bottle of True Blood, placing it down in front of Agnes and then sitting back in the chair next to me once more as she thanks him.

'It is beyond a pleasure and joy to meet you, as I'm sure you could have guessed from my slight emotional wobble for a few moments. But child, you must understand how highly regarded by us vampires your kind was. Because you really were my dear, very much so' she replies with complete honest fondness in her voice, her perfectly painted nude brown high glossed lips curling into a smile that lights up her whole face. I've never seen a vampire smile that widely before either.

'Eric has told me of that, yes' I reply while I nod.

'Well yes I can imagine he would have, and of course you two are in a relationship. How long were you together until this was discovered? Or did you always know you were different to others Tyra, and it was only through your romance with Eric that you realized what you were?' she then asks, while I feel very uncomfortable at her assumption. Not so much for me, but for how Eric will react to it since technically we aren't in a relationship.

'We're not in a relationship Agnes' he corrects her, and I watch her face change to look quite surprised after she's heard that piece of information.

'Oh, how surprising. But there must be at least some involvement between you both on a physical level, I can sense the energies between you and they are very strong indeed. How do the young people coin the term these days, ah yes, you are fuck buddies, right?' she then replies, making me laugh a little bit as she does too. It was obvious she threw the last part of her sentence in for amusement value. It's so, so strange; to see someone who still looks so dainty and young refer to anyone else as 'the young people'. I can't get my head around how ancient she is still, looking at her in the flesh doesn't help.

'If you want to label it in such a way, then yes, that is what we are' Eric replies to her question, while Agnes nods very slowly whilst looking at us both, and then makes a disbelieving face for a few moments before shaking her head a little and then reaching for her cigarettes. 'You still insist upon that vile habit then Agnes?' he then questions her as she pulls out a long, thin white cigarette and puts it to her lips before lighting it.

'I do insist upon it, yes' she says, while he reaches onto another table and grabs an ashtray for her. 'Right, I need to be informed on the back story of this, how it was found out that you are Wolverina, everything. Spare me no detail Eric' she replies, crossing one leg over the other and politely blowing her smoke away from us all. So far I've also noticed the definite change in her tone when she's speaking to Pam and me, and then when she's addressing Eric. Her words are warmer to us, yet a little icy and business like towards him; which is no surprise since Eric did inform me she can hold a grudge, and it seems the grudge she bares towards him for refusing to have sex with her still exists. Another thing I notice is that she gets through another two cigarettes in the long time it takes for Eric to sit and meticulously explain everything that's been happening for the last six months to her, and as she wishes he spares no detail until she's brought completely up to speed and knows every little details, from Godric's visits to me, to the family tie between Eric and I, right up to just two days ago when we visited the wolf. And after he's done Agnes takes a few moments to sip her blood and finish her third cigarette, looking like she's thoroughly digesting what she's been told before she speaks again.

'Dear Godric, he never ceased to amaze me. I was awfully saddened to hear of his true death earlier this year. What he did was brilliant, simple brilliance in keeping you safe for the last twenty eight years, and then putting you in the hands of the one he knew would keep you safe. It must have been nice Eric, to learn after so long you did have family left in this world' she muses, twirling a ringlet around her middle finger as she speaks.

'What would be nice is to find out how she is even possible, considering all the Wolverina's of the world were wiped out so long ago. That is what we've been struggling to even begin to decipher since we discovered what Tyra was' he replies, folding his arms while Agnes nods.

'In order to do that, I must begin by informing you what, or rather who wiped you all out over a thousand years ago. Let me begin by saying Godric could not have been more correct when he stated Russell Edgington can never find out what she is, for he is the one who wiped the Wolverina's from the face of the earth. He murdered them all Tyra, all so the only master the werewolves would ever have from then on was him. Of course, for a werewolf to turn against his queen was an unheard of thing, but those under his charge gorged themselves upon his blood, to such an extent it polluted their minds and they turned against their queens in favour of him and what his ancient blood could do for them. One by one, each precious woman was slain, and believe me your kind were very rare back then too, there was only a handful of families from Scandinavia who had the gene running through the line. Your mother's family Eric, the Boden's carried that line of course. And so therefore you know the reason of the slaying of your family, Russell wanted the women dead. Your brother and father were just unfortunate casualties caught in the crossfire' she replies, while I turn to Eric and watch his face looking murderous. I expected nothing less, and to try and soothe whatever it is that's coursing through him I reach out and lay my hand on his forearm, hoping my energy will make him feel more peaceful. He stops frowning and goes back to passive in about ten seconds.

'But that still doesn't explain how Tyra here came to be' he replies, sounding a little frustrated.

'I'm moving on to that, and it can be explained in a very simple way, a way in which it is obvious Russell Edgington had absolutely no idea over. You wouldn't be sitting here with us now if he did know that one fundamental fact about Wolverina's. He destroyed them all before he could learn it of course, and wasn't old enough at the time like I was to have seen the change that happens once every one thousand years. And basically that is every one thousand years the Wolverina gene switches, and the first son born from a Wolverina mother will then carry that gene and of course it lies dormant for men cannot be Wolverina, only women. After a thousand years though the first female baby to be born from the last man carrying the gene will be Wolverina, what your father did indeed pass to you. It is what I now know to be the other reason behind Godric's following of your family link so meticulously too. He was waiting for the first female to be born, and ready to do as he did. To guard her, and here she is safe and sound' Agnes replies, holding her hands out to point at me at the end of her sentence before dropping them into her lap.

'And how could it be that a vampire like Russell didn't know that fact?' Pam then enquires.

'A vampire like Russell, you say that like he's something special Pam. Back then he was as he is now, a power mad, bloodthirsty, jumped up, arrogant and snobbish little fool. He's always thought himself a cut above the rest, and maybe now his elder years might have given him a little more wisdom, from the sounds of his cunningness in the stories relating to queen Sophie Anne and the magister I can see that. But back then he was nothing but a brainless savage hungry for domination in our world, masquerading as everything he was not. So it wouldn't surprise me that because of his own over inflated sense of self he didn't bother reading over the finer details concerning your species. It honestly surprised me that he didn't take any Wolverina captive to gain the powerful properties of the blood of your kind, but then of course on the other hand if he ever did research anything about them he wouldn't have wanted the blood bond that goes hand in hand with feeding from a Wolverina' she replies, while each of us nod, and then Eric speaks again.

'The blood bond, that is definitely something else I wish to converse with you over. Can you explain that to us in detail?' he asks her, leaning forward a little in his seat, obviously thirsty to know about this bond he has spoken about with me briefly.

'Ah yes, the blood bond, I can see quite clearly that you two have not entered one firmly yet. The energy between you two is strong, but not strong enough for a bond to exist. Tell me, how many times have you drank of each other?' she asks.

'As in an actual feed, three times for me, more for her, for certain sexual reasons as I'm sure you'd naturally gather' he replies, while Agnes nods deeply.

'Yes, gathered loud and clear Eric. And right now you are at a crucial point in the course of a bond. Let me explain in detail for you. A vampire and Wolverina have to drink each other's blood, a proper imbibing of blood from an artery four times before a bond will be infused between them. And that bond will last until one of them dies. But as I said it happens in stages. The first stage or the first drink as you could call it has a very powerful effect, almost like having a spell cast over you. Did you suddenly find yourselves very reluctant to be parted, and very considerate of each other, more so than usual?' she asks us, both of us nodding in reply before she continues. 'Okay, so the effects of that would have lasted for twelve hours before the blood wore off on you both. It must be noted here and now that the blood of a vampire would affect the Wolverina in the same way hers affected him, that first bond, the first taste of the deep spiritual connection that will eventually form. The second stage lasts a little longer, twenty four hours and then the effects wear off, and then the third of course for forty eight hours, but with the third stage you probably will have found the effects of the blood probably didn't leave you totally. Eric did you feel much more strongly about Tyra after that third time you drank of her?' she replies.

'Yes I did' is all he answers, quickly and uncomfortably.

'And Tyra, am I correct to believe any time you have drank of Eric you've felt closer to him as well?' she then asks.

'Yes, I have' I admit, feeling as uncomfortable as Eric looks, discussing this while he's right next to me. My feelings for him are cards I've been keeping very close to chest.

'I sense a very strong discomfort here between you both now, discussing such things in front of each other when it is very clear to me that the boundaries of whatever it is you two have between you have not been discussed openly. So perhaps to help you both with this more I could suggest I speak to you both individually about it? I feel it would make you both more comfortable to speak of this without the other right there next to you' she then states, astounding me with how strong her intuition is. I think I like her already.

'And why Agnes, should I have to go into that in a one on one basis with you? Why should I have to go into detail over something so personal?' he asks frostily.

'Eric, believe this or not but I'm here to actually be of help. Apart from the fact I still think you're crazy for not wanting me to take you to bed, I can see now in this moment in time at least why you don't want to. And it's because of her and what you feel toward her. Now, before I embarrass you in front of your lover and your progeny, shut up and get over your stubborn, pig headed male pride. Honestly!' she fumes at him, tutting and shaking her head of long brown curls. Yes, I definitely like her. And so with that Pam and I head off downstairs, which in a way is a shame as I'd like to see Agnes put him in his place while I discover just exactly what he does feel for me. Whatever it is, the four thousand plus year old vampire upstairs with him right now can smell it a mile off by the sounds of things.

**Authors note - Once again, a huge thank you to my reviewers! Keep it up! I'm so glad you like what I'm writing :) and with that I have a question I'd like to put to all of you. I'm aiming to have Eric represented as a little of the vampire you see on True Blood, and a little of the vampire you read about in Charlaine's book series, like a half and half of how he's represented in each. How do you think I'm doing with this? Do I have the balance right? I'd love to know :) xxx**


	28. Chapter 28

Eric's POV.

'Hmm, pretty girl. Not my type at all, but I can see why you're attracted to her. She's very typically Swedish for one thing, which I guess is a bonus for you' Agnes says to me as soon as Pam and Tyra have retreated back downstairs to the formers apartment.

'I thought anything tall and blonde was your type Agnes' I reply dryly, watching her sneer slightly at me before her face goes back to it usual blankness.

'Don't stir the pot Northman, just keep in mind who got off their ass and crossed an ocean when they could of said no here, okay?' she fumes at me, managing to convey menace through her high pitched young girls voice that does force me to keep my mouth closed, for this moment at least. It's unwise to talk back to her I will admit; but sometimes I just cannot help but push my luck. 'So then oh temperamental one, why is it so hard for you to tell the Wolverina how you feel about her?' she then asks me after a few moments of silence, lighting another cigarette.

'I do not wish to discuss that with you' I reply, eyeing her with about as much distaste as my respect for her will allow me.

'Well guess what? You're going to have to, because you're literally one bite away from being bonded to her for the rest of her life, or the rest of yours, whoever meets their end first. And believe me; the power of that bond is unbelievably strong. And no, even someone as cold inside as you could not fight it, not even for a second' she replies, narrowing her eyes at me through a cloud of smoke filtering out of her nose slowly.

'Just how powerful are we talking here then Agnes? Explain it to me a little better, and in turn I might be a little more open with you. But not much, I'm well aware of your devious nature, and I cannot believe you'd simply drop the grudge you've held over me for the past three hundred years just out of respect for what you might sense I might feel for Tyra' I reply, somewhat prickled when she begins to laugh. Quite pleasant for a vampire she may be, but devious she also can be too, and will forever remain if you ask me.

'That's a lot of usage of the word 'might' Eric, I still see your opinion over something is as hard to pinpoint as ever you complex little bastard' she replies, still laughing. 'And a lot has changed since we were last in social contact, a hell of a lot. As I said earlier in front of the girls, I still think you're mad for not wanting to bed me, having four thousand years of sexual experience all over you wrapped up the tight and perky body of a sixteen year old girl, but that is neither here nor there now. My sexual interest in you ceased to be some time ago' she adds before finishing her True Blood. Yes, considerable changes have been afoot it would seem; there's no way the Agnes Bynhild I knew would have lowered herself to drink a synthetic version of our life's source if it had been invented back then.

'If that truly is the case, then why did you hang up on me three days ago after asking the same question you know I'll always say no to?' I challenge her with.

'Because I didn't want to make it too easy for you, to speak to me that is. And well, old habits are hard to break' she replies, looking very much amused.

'Anyway, this back and forth bitching at each other is not answering my original question' I tell her, as forcefully as I dare to. I do know full well if I piss her off to much the wrath she will bring will be considerable. At her age of course, she's the most powerful vampire in the entire world. I'm not blinded by my own alpha male ego so much that I cannot recognise that.

'You're the only one bitching Eric, so just zip that pretty mouth and listen. Right, the blood bond as I iterated to you just a few minutes ago, is a very, very strong one between a vampire and Wolverina. To put it bluntly, it was considered even stronger than the bond between man and wife, or parent and child. They weren't called the vampire brides for nothing. And as I touched upon earlier, it does happen in stages, and as mentioned right now you are one bite away from being bonded to her, that is if she's drank of you more than four times, which I assume she has' she replies, her free hand preening her long highlighted brown hair.

'Yes, most definitely' I interject with.

'Then I am right, one bite is all it will take Eric. Dry biting excluded of course, but I can't imagine you can hold yourself back enough to indulge in that particular practice. Wolverina blood is like drinking liquid ecstasy as I remember it' she then continues, her voice slow and languid as she obviously remembers the effects of the blood in question, closing her eyes for a few moments only for them to spring open quickly again.

'Actually I can. But believe me when I tell you it's the most difficult thing to resist. Any lesser vampire would not be able to fight such extreme temptation' I reply, watching her eyebrows rise notably.

'If I was wearing a hat I would take it off to you. Anyway we have digressed ever so slightly, back to the blood bond. As I mentioned it is a strong one, extremely strong. You will be able to feel a much heightened sense of each other's emotions, and your connection will be utterly unbreakable too. The only eyes you will ever have is for each other, and being parted for long periods of time will cause you both pain, and I do mean something close to a physical ache. But the mental torment of not being with each other is what I understand to be the worst. It is the very strongest of bonds, but what comes with it is unbridled pleasure from being with each other, total bliss in every sense. Vampire's and Wolverina's just match, they go together so perfectly. Mainly because they do not fear us as any other mortal does; we can respect them almost on the same level as we do each other because of that. So Eric, you have to be very careful, because, and I repeat, one bite is all it's going to take. And right now I can tell how scared you are of that prospect too, and do not try and deny it, you will not insult my intelligence like that' she replies sternly, while I feel myself begin to frown.

'I'm scared of nothing' I reply obtusely.

'Two words, bull and shit. I told you not to insult my intelligence, you're scared stiff, scared of so many things. What our peers would think of you being committed to one woman, scared you might loose face in the vampire world. Pig headed male pride if ever I saw it. Also, you're scared of letting someone in that close to you again, losing her when she dies, everything any vampire admits if only to themselves they fear when entering a relationship with a mortal. You're extremely fond of Tyra; I see that very, very clearly. But then again so could a blind man' she replies, this time without any malice, while I just feel myself becoming wound up further. I don't like being this well read at all.

'If you must fucking know...' I begin before I'm interrupted.

'DO NOT CURSE AT ME!' she suddenly roars loudly, reminding me loud and clear of her superior wrath, just how deadly she is underneath the more amiable than most vampires' exterior that she has. If she so chose to attack me, I'd be dead within a blink. I must be respectful of that.

'If you must know, yes I am very fond of her. Yet, I know I can make no long term promises to her. I know for now I am content with what we have, it has no label and it suits me just fine. It's just me and her, nothing else. But, I cannot promise her any longevity. Simply because I do not know if I am capable of such a thing' I reply, deciding that the truth is perhaps the wisest move right now considering Agnes still looks angry, fangs bared, her ice cold stare burning into the back of my skull through my eye sockets.

'I suppose that's a reasonable enough answer. Even though I can of course feel the depth of the feelings you both harbour towards each other, which I will not voice, and I will not mention to you again. From now it's your choice entirely, but just remember one thing carefully Eric, taking what you want as yours, recognising it is what you want in the first place and not being ashamed of that is not weak. To deny yourself of what you want is though. And also remember, she chose you, that is something to feel much self pride over, being chosen by a Wolverina' she replies, a flicker of a smile coming back to her face again as she stubs out her cigarette and then leans back in her seat once more. 'So, is there anything else you wish to ask me?' she then adds, fangs retreated now and sounding much calmer.

'No, I think it's time Tyra come up and sit and learn from you about her kind. She is full of questions my limited knowledge on her kind cannot answer' I reply as I stand up, nod to her and then head downstairs in a flash, knocking Pam's door before pushing it open and then watching Tyra rise from the couch and walk over to me, pulling the door closed behind her.

'So, how'd it go?' she asks me, her face hardly visible through the near darkness.

'She's given me a lot of information, and also a lot to think about too. You will understand that when you have a certain element explained to you. I'll be through there when you're done, bring her down with you unless she wants to retreat to her hotel' I reply, before turning and quickly heading to my apartment. After what I have just heard, it's quite hard to look at her right now. The impact of Agnes's words is starting to penetrate, the fact that it'll only take one more time if I ever drink her blood again and then I'll be bonded to her, with no choice but to be. And now I must begin to question if that really is something I want, or am even capable of letting myself into. Even though allegedly I'll never want for anyone else ever again but her if I do. Is that another thing I really want? I feel I'm going to procrastinate over this for a time yet.

Tyra's POV.

I cannot deny that right now, a little of me wants to go and make sure Eric is okay. Because when we spoke outside of Pam's apartment even in the virtual darkness I could see he wasn't alright. Whatever Agnes has just told him, well it's spooked him well and truly. Which I must admit does effect the speed I'm currently climbing the stairs at, wondering if perhaps what I'm about to learn is going to have a similar effect upon me. We are a little similar in how we act towards things, Eric and me.

'I'm just going to fetch myself a water' I tell Agnes as I pass the table she's sitting at, typing out something n her white Blackberry, the case covered in orange and red rhinestones that glitter in the dim lights of the club.

'Of course' she replies pleasantly, finishing her typing and looking over to me as I walk behind the bar. 'Was the red wine no longer of interest?' she then asks as I fill a glass from the siphon machine and drop in a couple of ice cubes, then walk back from behind the bar and over to her.

'I finished the bottle' I confess as I sit down, watching one of her eyebrows upturn slightly.

'I am most impressed at your capability to still manage walking in such high shoes after imbibing that much alcohol' she says through a bright smile. I'm finding it very hard right not to remember this is the oldest, most powerful vampire in the world sitting opposite me right now. Yet she just looks like a teenage girl, albeit a smartly dressed one in skin tight grey jeans, a white caftan style top and her black blazer currently hanging over the back of the chair, and a pair of black and brass gladiator style sandals on her feet. And also, she's the most fucking friendly vampire I've ever met. I expected her to be like Eric times a thousand.

'I've had years of practice' I reply, making her smile again and then reach for my hand.

'Tyra, I could sense your nerves as you walked up the stairs. Calm down, everything is well here, everything is fine' she says, while looking a touch more blissful as she continues to hold on to my hand. 'And now I shall stop, I can guess having vampires so keen to touch you to feel your energy must be something that gets on your nerves a little' she then adds considerately. As I just stated she's very friendly for a vampire, but also she's not overly warm just like any other vampire isn't; there's still that chill in her voice, and that stillness about her. But also, at the same time there's something about her that has a lot more sparkle than either Eric or Pam, and no disrespect is meant to either of them in me saying this either.

'I'm not usually a nervous person, but all this, it's just...' I reply, shaking my head as I trail off.

'It's a hell of a lot for one mind to take in without said mind feeling like it's about to spontaneously combust, correct?' she asks me whilst reaching for her cigarettes.

'Yes, correct. I must say, you've amazed me no end with your intuition Agnes. But then again I suppose one can expect nothing less from a vampire of your age' I reply, watching her light her cigarette.

'They would be foolish to, yes. At my grand old age of four thousand and ninety two years old, my intuition is sharper than a razor. About four thousand times sharper to be exact child' she replies. 'But I must express I do understand partly what you are going through right now. To be told you are something not human, although in their form and mortal like them, but then not being able to know exactly why and what you were must have been hellishly arduous for you' she then adds.

'Well, you're here to help with that now aren't you?' I reply, to which she nods firmly and slowly.

'Yes I am. So where would you like to begin? What has not been said yet that you would like for me to cover in finer detail?' she asks me, leaning forward a little and resting her head on her palm as she props her elbow against the table.

'Is there anything else other than what Eric told me that I need to, or should know about my kind? Like what I'm capable of, or if I have any weaknesses like you vampires do with wood, sunlight and silver? Just little things like that really first of' I reply, to which she clears her throat and begins to answer.

'Let us go through in fine detail what you know already. As far as your abilities go, Wolverina follow the traits of wolves very closely. So that means the keener senses such as sight, smell and instinct, you are both physically and mentally stronger than a human, but you are mortal like them with the same life expectancy and fragilities too. Also of course there is the energy that you radiate to vampires, and of course how your blood affects them too. You may also have noticed that when you become totally lost in extreme anger or pleasure your eyes glow bright orange, and I am very surprised this was not noticed before by Eric, or any other man you've had sexual relations with to be honest. At the point of orgasm your eyes of course would be that colour for a few moments' she begins with, covering what Eric and I touched upon, except the last part of her sentence.

'They or he wouldn't have noticed. My eyes have always been closed quite tightly at that point' I interject with, while she nods and laughs a little.

'Well yes, I do the same thing' she confides, laughing a little louder. It does surprise me, how joyous she seems at times. 'This also makes me realize why you were not identified before, this is really the only stand out feature you Wolverina's have, or had as the case since you are the last one left. Right then, you asked me about your weaknesses. And as far as my extensive knowledge of your kind goes, you only have one. Your chosen vampire, the bad tempered Viking downstairs in your case' she adds, while I have to laugh at what she refers to Eric as.

'My chosen vampire? Well, I haven't really chosen him out of a line up or anything like that' I reply, about to continue before Agnes cuts in.

'Oh but you have! I assume you've met other vampires before him?' she asks me.

'True, yes I have' I reply, wondering where she's going with this.

'But it was only Eric you felt an inexplicable draw to as well as the attraction, yes?' she then questions.

'Once again, correct' I reply before taking a few sips of my water.

'This is what happens naturally. A Wolverina can meet thousands of vampires, but only one will ever be the true one for her. Eric is the true one for you, I see this very clearly. Which brings me on to the next piece of vital information I must explain to you and that is the blood bond that can be established between you both. It takes four feeds of blood from each of you to be bonded, and as I understand that bond is just one more feed away on Eric's part. And once that happens you and he will be bonded together until one of you dies. You will feel no want or need for another; you will literally be the centre of each other's worlds. The bond is that strong Tyra, more so than the bond of husband and wife, or parent and child. It's a very beautiful thing though; never before have I witnessed such intimacy and love between two lovers as I have when I've witnessed a vampire and a Wolverina together. You would both be sublimely happy, if that is what you both choose. I understand it is not a choice either of you will take lightly, especially after only knowing each other for six months' she replies, flicking ash into the black glass ashtray she pulls a little closer to herself, while I nod a little dumbly, the impact of her words making me feel like suddenly there's been a very large weight dropped right onto my chest.

'You're right, it isn't a choice I could possibly take lightly, no matter how I feel about Eric' I reply quietly.

'And let me guess, you have a great depth of feelings towards him, don't you? I can feel it, feel the unspoken bond between you already, the affection between you both that neither actually wants to voice. You're both about as stubborn and proud as each other in that respect' she replies with a little wink that just shows me she probably does know a lot more about the way I feel about Eric than I'm comfortable to admit.

'Yes, I do. He makes me very happy; he's the kind of man I've wanted for a long time. Godric was right when he said we're well suited to each other. I think we are too. But, I'm hesitant to push for anything further with him, and now this information about a blood bond being so close to being formed, well, I just don't know what to think really' I reply.

'I think a lot of that is based on what you think Eric feels too, yes? He isn't exactly straightforward is he?' she replies. Yep, she knows him well alright.

'I cannot see him wanting to make that kind of commitment to me, no matter how pleasant and affectionate he might be right now, I know for fact he enjoys the fact I don't nag him for commitment, I just accept him for who and what he is' I reply, while she begins to smile.

'Tyra, that could just be the very thing that would make him want that, the fact that you are probably the only woman he has ever met who just totally accepts him for being who and what he is; a vampire. But, I cannot put words in his mouth of course' she tells me while stubbing out her cigarette. It's at this moment I decide to ask another question that's been bothering me since I met the Norwegian queen little over an hour ago.

'To totally change the subject here for a second I have to ask, when you don't get the benefits of nicotine, why do you smoke? And sorry if that's a question you've been asked a million times before' I ask her, watching her make a face that says 'yes I have been asked that much, but no I do not mind answering it'.

'Quite simply, it's a comfort. The smell in particular, you see my father used to chew tobacco, and he used to pull the leaves apart in his hands first before placing them in a little wooden box he'd made, and when I held his hand the smell of the tobacco would rub off. So it's always been a scent I associate with him. After all this time, I do still miss him' she replies, showing a certain fragility about her I've rarely witnessed in another vampire before; not since Eric spoke about Ida to me. Maybe at her age she can't be bothered to sever her emotions completely, or maybe again because of her age and status she is just brave enough to show them. Who would dare chide the worlds oldest vampire for reclaiming a little of her humanity? I certainly wouldn't.

'You were just sixteen when you were made weren't you?' I ask her next.

'Yes, but I will not let the conversation be steered around to me. I do not wish to be unpleasant, but I do not know you well enough to want to converse with you over my life as a human' she replies, showing diplomacy but also firmness. 'Back to you I think, this is after all why I am here' she then adds.

'Then I guess my next question will be about this power I have over wolves and werewolves. Can you tell me more about that?' I reply, not fazed by her refusal to speak any further about herself. Why should she? Like she says, she doesn't know me.

'Of course I can. There isn't very much to it though, and it's very straightforward. Basically, that energy that runs through you can be channelled through your eyes when you become very angry, and if a wolves or werewolves happen to be on the receiving end of a stare from you in an angered state the pain you will cause them will be immeasurable. Your energy burns them, burns straight through their eyes and causes them to bleed, and then straight to the brain causing it to literally disintegrate. In the old times they used to think it was what we equate in this day and age to a brain haemorrhage, but I discovered it to be a much worse fate after I beheaded the victim of a Wolverina's stare, and then cracked his skull open. What I poured out was just blood and tissue mush' she replies, while I just sit and think in amazement 'and I can do that? Woah' and then feel my head go completely blank. This isn't easy to take in. You know the feeling you get inside when you just know someone is feeding you a bullshit story because of how far fetched it all sounds? Well, imagine that feeling inside, coupled with the fact that you know you aren't being lied to. What you are being told is true. To be frank, it's immense. 'And after hearing all that if you wish to swap that water for wine again, I shall not hold it against you' she then adds, whispering her sentence in a secretive way that humours me, like it's something just between me and her. I must say, she has a wonderful way at putting me at ease.

'I have to say, and by no way do I wish to offend you, but you have all the best traits of humans. You're not as dead inside as some vampires I've met, you have your sparkle still' I reply, watching her incline her head a little and look at me curiously.

'It's called Yves Saint Laurent' she jokes, gesturing to her lightly bronzed cheeks and then laughing quietly. 'No I do see you what you mean, and believe me cheerfulness is very hard for a vampire to keep a hold of. It's only been in the last one hundred years that I've really found mine again. I think when you get to my age, you realize in order to survive you do have to let back in a little of the joy you once blocked out' she continues, while I nod. I'd love to sit here and learn more about this ancient vampire, yet I am scared to ask.

'It must be tough, immortality' I reply, watching her make a face that hints to mixed feelings over my statement.

'Yes and no, but we will talk more about this another time. I want to get myself back to my hotel, and no doubt you want to get back to Eric, so we shall leave it here for tonight' she tells me efficiently, picking up her cigarette case and lighter to slide them back into the blazer she puts back on, and then offers me her hand.

'Tyra it was honestly a great pleasure to meet you. You have no idea how much happiness knowing of your existence has given me. Until tomorrow' she then tells me while we shake hands.

'Sentiment returned Agnes, and yes, until tomorrow' I tell her, before seeing her out of the club and over to the waiting silver Mercedes where the vampire she came in with is patiently waiting for her. I watch them drive away and then turn around and lock up, putting the key back in its usual place before heading downstairs to Eric. I guess now is as good a time as any for us to have a talk about what Agnes spoke to us in turn over. We have to stop running away from this at some point, why not right now? Because I for one am starting to see the childishness of a 1,080 year old and a 28 year old acting like teenagers. One way or another, it's got to stop. Especially when you take into consideration what we're teetering on the very edge of, a life long bond. Yes, the time to talk has definitely come.

**Authors note - Once again, a huge thank you to my reviewers! Keep it up! I'm so glad you like what I'm writing :) and with that I have a question I'd like to put to all of you. I'm aiming to have Eric represented as a little of the vampire you see on True Blood, and a little of the vampire you read about in Charlaine's book series, like a half and half of how he's represented in each. How do you think I'm doing with this? Do I have the balance right? I'd love to know so if you could let me know when you review this chapter that would be excellent! :) xxx**


	29. Chapter 29

Tyra's POV.

'Agnes went back to her hotel, I've locked up and switched everything off' I tell Eric as I walk in, watching him look up from a book he's reading and then putting it down on the table in front of him as I walk around to sit on the couch opposite him.

'Thank you' he replies, not really looking like he's giving me his full attention, staring at the flames from the candles burning on the table between us.

'You look thoughtful' I observe, fiddling with one of my bracelets a little nervously. Something feels different between us, and I strongly suspect that is because he's thinking along the same lines as me. In light of what we've learned tonight, the time has now come to actually discuss what is going on between us.

'What I've heard tonight has given me much to consider' he replies simply, before adding 'as I'm sure is much the case with you as well'.

'Yes, I can't deny it has, definitely' I reply, realizing our short answers are because neither of us particularly wants to initiate the topic we know we have to talk about, until I decide to take it into my own hands and just speak up.

'Eric, we need to actually talk about what it is that's going between us. Especially after what we've learned tonight, how close we are to being bonded. I think it's a big deal, especially since neither of us are inclined to even label what we are right now' I reply, catching his gaze and smiling a little, his face not flickering even for a moment.

'Yes, I agree it's time for us to just be honest and get over our own egos for a second. Tyra I do enjoy being with you, but for how long I cannot promise you at all. In a few months I could and probably will become bored with you. I do not want to promise you any commitment I might not be able to give you long term. No matter how wonderful you are' he replies, while I know I shouldn't but yet cannot help but laugh at, making him frown heavily at me and growl a little. He does it when he's angry as well as turned on.

'Eric, I don't know why you think that's so unique to vampires, but humans act like that too. And usually, they don't even have the courtesy to forewarn you they might mess you around further down the line. I know who and what you are, you're a vampire, a hunter. I know that doesn't just extend to food, and I know what all this is revolving around so I'll just come out and say it in as many words for you. I never asked you to be faithful to just me, and I never expected it either' I tell him, finally finding a little seriousness again as I come to the end of my speech.

'But I happen to think you deserve it. Probably for that fact too, the fact you've never expected me to be at all faithful to you, and I have been. In the absence of a real relationship I've never been more romantically true to any other woman than you. Even with Ida, a woman you could never take the place of, I still had my lapses. I wasn't one hundred percent faithful; I had a couple of deviations from an otherwise perfect marriage. And I know she deserved it, the simplicity of me being faithful, just as I know you do too. But I don't want to make a promise to know I have to break it, and I don't want you to have to settle for that either. That's what it boils down to' he replies.

'Look, you really don't sound like you have a clue what you want to do about this, and we haven't even touched upon that bond that could happen between us either. And to be honest, that's too much for us to deal with right now' I begin, Eric cutting in suddenly.

'You're not wrong there. Effectively it'd be like me saying 'Tyra, will you marry me? Oh and by the way, divorce is now illegal so we're going to be together forever indefinitely'. We can't even decide what we want or what we are to each other already, let alone discussing that right now too' he says, frowning deeper.

'_You_ can't decide you mean. You haven't even asked me what I want. I take you as you are Eric, and that suits me perfectly fine. Being with you suits me perfectly fine too, but if you want to throw reasons at me not to be then I think you need more time to make your mind up, and I need the same. I suggest we spend some time apart, considerable time apart' I reply, watching him nodding as he stares at a cluster of candles lit on the table in front of him.

'How long a time is considerable then? How long do you want us to part for?' he asks me.

'A few months I think, we need to see how well not being together sits with us before we decide anything else. It might actually make us both see what we really want' I reply quietly, watching him nod again and then get up and move to come and sit next to me.

'I agree to it, we'll get Agnes' visit out of the way first, then not see each other for two months. Agreed?' he says.

'Yes, agreed' I reply, feeling him take my hands in his.

'Then I propose that we enjoy the time between then and now, thoroughly' he tells me, pulling me close to him and then lying back on the couch with me in his arms as we begin to kiss. But unlike I thought, kissing is all he instigates. And I must confess things suddenly do feel very different between us, very different indeed. For one thing, we barely speak a word to each other for the rest of the morning, and certainly not about anything to do with us or what we discussed with Agnes. No, the quietness around us is not a comfortable one either, we both have a hell of a lot to deal with mentally, and so after we go to bed I lie awake for a time, and consider what to do. I know it is in the best interests of politeness not to disappear while Agnes is still here visiting, since she has come so far to see me, but right now I really do feel there is an atmosphere beginning to build between Eric and I.

Not a hostile one, but one that carries the energy of two people either about to make or break what they've had between them for the last four months of involvement with each other. Because in my mind that is what's going to happen, we'll either decide to be together for real, or we'll totally part ways and just be what we are on paper, a bookkeeper and a boss who just happen to be distantly related, and slept with each other a few times too once upon a time. Or a third option; we'll totally part and not have anything to do with each other, a thought that I cannot deny frightens me. Because I do feel something for him, I'm not in love with him or anything like that, no way. Tyra Boden does not fall for someone that easily. But I do care about him; he does have a little space inside my heart where he's easily fitted himself in.

And I know another thing for sure; I will miss him when I'm parted from him. I suppose that is a good thing though, because it will test how I do feel about him. But then again, it isn't my feelings that need to be tested. I've told him how I feel, how I accept who and what he is. It's just him who needs to make his mind up. And after a pretty much sleepless day, when Eric awakes again I am ready to tell him I want us to part ways as of now, something he takes quietly but well, just nodding and replying with 'as you wish'. Outwardly it would seem that he doesn't care, and before I got to know him I would have assumed the same. But it's not true, he does care. That's why he's being so quiet.

And so with that out of the way, when Agnes arrives back we spend two uncomfortable hours with her, before I take her to one side and explain things to her, why I must be rude and cut short my attendance to her visit. But I find she is more than understanding over it all. No surprise really.

'I could feel there was something awkward between you as soon as I walked in here, so I understand your reasoning Tyra and of course I do not think you are being rude child. And I think that your plan is a very good idea, and after those two months, if you see it is with each other that you want to be, I invite you both out to Norway to stay with me, and for you to learn more about your kind, meet with your Scandinavian werewolves and the like. Now that Russell Edgington is out of the equation we can take our time with this, and time is what I feel you need most. Keep in touch' she tells me, giving me a little pat on the shoulder and then pressing a very pale yellow card embossed with loopy silver script with both a cell and land line number below her royal crest, an email address present too. And with that, she excuses herself so Eric and I may say goodbye to each other in private.

'With regards to my work here I'll ask Pam to leave the box files up in the bar for me. I'll still do all the work that is needed to be done; I just won't stay here to do it. So, I guess I'll see you in eight weeks from now' I reply, reaching my arms around his waist and him in turn folding his around my shoulders, stroking my back and kissing my hair.

'Until September 21st then' he replies, his sharp mind calculating the date precisely, and then letting me go and walking away across the apartment, while I pick up my bag, turn to take one last look at him, his back to me as he stares at the open fire, and then leave, bumping into Agnes as she hovers outside of the apartment.

'Take care child' she tells me kindly before she enters the apartment again, leaving me to do just that; leave. And I cannot deny, it is with a heavy heart that I do so, wondering what things will be like the next time I am down here underneath Fangtasia; if I ever am again that is.

Agnes' POV.

I must say I do find it a great shame the Wolverina will not be around for the rest of my trip, but this is something I cannot fault her for. I could feel the atmosphere between her and Eric instantly when I arrived tonight, and my first reaction was, to be totally frank, a tad guilty. I did feel like I had perhaps thrown a colossal spanner in the works with the information I had given them, upsetting what did appear to be a very happy balance when I first encountered them. But what was I to do? Just let them teeter on the very edge of a blood bond that would trap them together forever without knowing of all the ins and outs of such a bond?

Fact must be presented as such, without sugaring the pill at all. I'm a vampire, and even though I have developed a stronger sense of humanity than most, I do not ever mince my words for someone else's comfort; it isn't in any vampires' nature to do so. But still, I do feel a tad awkward over what my words have caused, such unsettledness between them.

'Eric, I am sorry for any upset I have caused between Tyra and yourself. But I must say I do think what you are both doing is very sensible, to take time off from each other to decide on what it truly is you want from each other' I tell him as I walk into the apartment and sit myself down on the couch again.

'Tell me Agnes, as a voice of experience which rivals mine, at my age did you ever feel you were capable of being true to one sole lover?' he asks me, not turning away from the fire, his eyes almost transfixed on the flames in front of him.

'If I want something Eric, I take it. I make it my mission to have it, and I do not question my ability or anything else for that matter. You must recognise it is no weakness in voicing what you want. Vampires have done and taken exactly what they've so desired for centuries after all' I reply as I remove a jewelled copper coloured hairclip from my purse to clip up some of my hair away from my face.

'To a degree you are interpreting this all wrong, it isn't my pride or fear of showing weakness that prevents me from committing myself to Tyra, not entirely at least' he replies, his eyes still not leaving the fire.

'Then, what is it?' I ask him.

'With all due respect Agnes, we're not exactly friends, and a friend is perhaps the only one I would discuss this with. Certainly not a vampire who has only committed herself to one thing for so long, and that one thing is being the biggest bitch she can be since I've known you. Like I say, I mean no offense or disrespect to you in saying that. I'm merely stating the facts as they present themselves' he replies, finally looking at me with steel cold eyes.

'Oh Eric, how surprised you'd be to hear just who and what I have been capable of committing myself to' I reply lazily, laughing and then smiling warmly as I remember who I did commit myself to.

'Go on, surprise me then' he replies blandly, sitting opposite me and giving me a disbelieving look as I begin to rummage in my handbag, coming to what I was looking for an pulling it out, the little leather photograph wallet I carry with me always.

'Him' I reply whilst handing him the wallet with a picture of myself in the arms of my late husband. He takes it from me, pulls a face as he views it and then looks right back at me in total amazement.

'You had a relationship with a human?' he asks incredulously, the way he speaks the word 'human' sounding like it pains him.

'I was married to him for fifty years Eric' I reply, watching him give me yet another amazed look. 'So you are not only speaking to an expert on what your 'would be' girlfriend is, you're also speaking to an expert in letting happiness back into a cold and dead vampiric heart. Joseph gave me fifty of the greatest years I've ever known, and all he was is all Tyra is too. Someone who accepted me for who and what I was, and never tried to change me. All he ever did was love me, and like I say, give me fifty wonderful years with him' I then add, as Eric flips back through the photographs, ending on the one of us taken just a few days after we first met back in 1958.

'You've genuinely astounded me there; I must confess' He replies, passing me back the wallet. I take a few moments to sit and look through the pictures of Joseph and me.

'Well, you're one of few vampires' in existence to know about him. I kept my marriage with him from almost everyone who knew me, apart from my closest members of staff, and closest consorts of course, for reasons you almost addressed earlier. We all know as vampires it is dangerous to have a weakness, and he was mine. I didn't speak of him or make my marriage public to protect him, first and within the company I trusted, he was never hidden away. I was very proud to be his wife' I reply, sighing heavily when I look at the very last picture again. It was taken about three months before he fell ill last year. He still looked so spritely; he was still so active and fit too. Even when the picture was taken he insisted I sit upon his lap, even at his grand old age of eighty four he was still my big, strong, proud man.

'And how did you cope with that?' he asks, pointing out at the picture I'm looking at. 'How did you cope with seeing him grow old and haggard? Since you refer to him in the past tense I take it he's no longer alive too' he then adds, while I just nod.

'I accepted it as nature, something we all know will happen to a human being who does not wish to be made vampire, and he never wished to be. I always respected his decision not to want to become one of us, not to want to be with me forever. When you love someone as much as I loved him, you do not care about the fact they will grow old, or that they don't want to be made. All you care about is them, their wishes, their wants and needs. I lost him on the first of January this year. He died in my arms shortly after we watched the New Year's fireworks from a display I organised for him in the grounds of my palace, even though he was too weak to come outside with me.

We sat at the window in our bedroom and just watched them, and I remember knowing he'd died when his grip on my hand loosened just a touch. It was awful, just awful to lose him, to watch him being buried. His family agreed to have his service at night so I could attend of course. And it was one of the hardest things I ever had to face as a vampire, but it was something I'd had plenty of time to brace myself for. It hurts in the end to lose them, but you just accept it. We've been made hard enough as vampires to accept it more so than mortals. It is not beyond our grasp' I reply, dabbing a bloody tear from my eye as I remember my last night with my beloved husband.

'And in those fifty years, were you faithful to just him?' Eric asks me, looking honestly interested as I read him. I'm very good at reading others, and right now I can almost read his thoughts too. He's almost certainly thinking 'well, if a vampire like her can do this, then why can't I?'

'Yes I was, even as far as feeding went, I only ever took his blood. Until he became sick though, then I refused to drink of him because he was just too weak' I reply, while Eric nods.

'And your vampire blood could not have cured him?' he then asks me.

'No, for he did not want to be cured, he knew it was his time to go. All I did was what any good wife could have done, arranged the best possible medical care, and around the clock nursing at the palace for him, he had everything he needed. I even moved his family in with us, his children and his grandchildren so they could be with him for his last few months. And believe me that was a big push, he was one of few humans who did not irritate me to distraction. Having his grandchildren there really did make me very glad it was not possible to procreate. Noisy, messy, loud little creatures' I reply, watching him smile at me in a knowing way.

'It's good to know not everything has changed about you Agnes, but so far I do note the changes in you have been considerable' he tells me, looking very thoughtful indeed.

'As I said to Tyra, in order to survive a vampire does have to block out a lot of what once made them human, and harden themselves to joy and happiness. I think when you reach a certain age you really do have to let some of that back in, in order to continue to survive. Maybe when you reach my age you might understand that a little better' I reply, while he nods again. I must say it is quite an odd sight to see him being so quiet, all of his cocky bravado faded. But then again I have given him much to consider.

'And I do think you could be capable of the same too, only if you want to be though. And something in me senses you are not sure not only if you want to be, but if you actually can be. You wouldn't have asked me if it was something I was capable of if you didn't' I then add, watching him eye me sharply for a few seconds, like I've hit the nail on the head.

'I do not know if I could be true to her though, as you were to Joseph. Yet she states that is something she does not expect from me' he replies, voicing a concern that I do not see to even be one, and so I laugh at him. 'Agnes, please do not mock me' he then adds sharply, while I hold my hand up immediately in defence of that comment.

'Eric I am not mocking you. I am merely wondering what the hell your problem is, you're looking a gift horse in the mouth. The woman is not asking you to change yourself, isn't expecting you to be faithful and yet this is a concern? Something she isn't expecting. I am rather baffled here' I reply, calming my laughter.

'She deserves better, which is what my problem is. She deserves me to be true to her, and I do not want to enter a commitment with her knowing that I will never be able to give her what she deserves, regardless of what she thinks' he replies. He sounds like he's confusing even himself here.

'That's very gentlemanly of you. So that brings us onto the bond, if you are bonded with her, you won't cheat on her. You won't even feel the urge to. But I suppose with that a whole new set of complications are thrown in. Once you do enter the bond with her though, you know you will never question it, never become bored with her or never want to be apart from her. It will kill off all those uncertainties, all those questions and doubts. I suppose you just need to sit and think on if you actually want that though, which is no doubt what she is doing and will be doing in the time you spend parted from her' I reply. 'Now if you will excuse me, I am not rude enough to pollute your home with cigarette smoke so I shall escape upstairs for my indulgence' I then add as I take my cigarettes from my bag and then within a second am standing outside of Fangtasia. That's another thing about me; I'm not only the strongest, but the fastest of all vampires. I could be in Honolulu in five minutes if I so chose.

I light up and walk away from the front of the club and the queue of people assembled who are waiting to get in, wanting to stand alone and just be with my thoughts. I must say, Eric's strength and resilience towards the Wolverina are shockingly strong. To still be questioning his involvement with her, well, it just shows how much he's truly hardened his emotions, yet I do see the evidence of her creeping her way into what is left of his heart has already begun. I know he does care about her, he does hold feelings towards her. He wouldn't be claiming she deserves more than he can give her if he didn't.

It is here though where my thoughts return to my precious husband, and I smile with a mixture of fondness and sadness, my thumb turning the gold wedding ring I know it will take centuries for me to remove, if I ever do around on my finger, remembering the day (or night rather) when he placed it there. Our wedding was a grand affair, even though there were under a hundred people there, all sworn to secrecy not to breathe a word that their good friend Joseph Krug was marrying a vampire. After all, it was 1960 when we married, just nine months after our first meet.

What followed were fifty blissful years, my relationship with him opening up a part of me I had long considered to be dead and gone, and that is something I can never thank him enough for. He breathed new life into my cold, ancient heart. In the exact same way I know Tyra can for Eric too. The connection they have already, the long lost family tie is incredible enough, for that to be strengthened by an actual relationship, or even a blood bond if that is what they chose, would be amazing for them both. But of course, that is for them to decide. And by the time my visit ends just one day later, I have the feeling Eric at least is very, very far from making a final decision. Yet I cannot help but hold hope that when Tyra comes to visit me in late September, she will bring him with her too.

**Authors note - A very big thank you for the continued interest and reviews everyone, you and they are all very much appreciated!**


	30. Chapter 30

Eric's POV.

The apartment is so quiet right now that it's strange just what my ears are picking up on, all the little sounds that for the last few months I'd totally forgotten even existed in the early hours of each morning. Like the woman who lives one block away having trouble starting her car and cursing loudly over and over in her thick Haitian accent, or the sound of the delivery wagon pulling up outside the deli three streets away carrying the morning bread delivery, or even things closer to home like the dripping tap upstairs in the men's bathroom, or the buzzing of the neon light behind the bar when Ginger forgets to turn it off on her way out. And why are all these sounds so much more noticeable now? Because I haven't had the sound of Tyra's soft snoring filtering through my ears before anything else, that's why. And I haven't heard that sound in six weeks today either. Six weeks that have honestly felt like a lot longer, and I will be honest and confide I have missed her more than I imagined I would too. It seems the impossible has happened for me, and that is I've got used to having her around, and I do not feel quite right when she isn't.

So yes I'll be shallow and admit I miss having sex on a regular basis with her too, it's something I now know cannot be satisfied by another woman either since I tried that. I brought a woman down to the basement two weeks ago because I was craving copulation so badly it was driving me to distraction, but it only lasted for an hour before I became bored and threw her out. There was nothing wrong with her, she was attractive and certainly very sexually experienced, but she just wasn't Tyra. Nothing feels as erotic as having her energy pouring into me when we have sex, feeling through it what she feels, feeling how it makes me feel too. So I guess that's the question of commitment answered right there in itself. I took an incredibly sexy woman, maybe even sexier than Tyra herself to bed with me and was bored of her after just one hour. And in that I can recognise something Agnes told me, and that is that after drinking of Tyra three times, the full effects of the blood bond would be felt to a degree now, just a lot more diluted in potency.

So you're probably now wondering why I don't just march on over to her house and tell her that since no other woman is going to cut it for me, the only stumbling block in us actually being together in a proper sense of the word has now been removed. Except it hasn't, because despite all other evidence I'm still having problems committing myself to the idea of committing myself to her, and yes I know just how complex that makes me too. It also irritates me, because never in my existence as a vampire have I felt the need to emotionally unload my own burdens on anyone else, but right now that is just what I wish I could do. Except the only people I would ever feel comfortable doing that with are all long dead, which is why I think when I eventually fall asleep that I enter the dream I do...

In my dream I'm walking up the stairs here at Fangtasia, and into the bar area where I can see a table and two chairs laid out underneath a spotlight, almost looking like the scene is set for an interview set up or something, or the penultimate round of questioning in one of those hideous TV game shows. I approach the table and sit down, and literally just a few seconds after I do and also begin to wonder what is going to happen next, I hear the sound of heels coming from across the club, yet see nobody coming in any direction I look in through the darkness. But when I turn back over my shoulder again, in front of me stands a woman, perhaps the most important woman to me for all eternity, who I haven't seen in over a thousand years.

'Mother?' I ask incredulously as I stare up at her.

'Yes son' she replies in perfect English which startles me for in life she only spoke Swedish of course (what possible uses would she have to speak any other language back then?) and also dressed in modern clothes, a deep brown pants suit and a white shirt. That is something I can easily picture her wearing if she was alive today too.

'You can speak English now?' I ask her as she sits.

'When all I am is a figment of your dream, then no, but this is not why I am here. That is not the question you most seek an answer to is it my boy?' she asks me, her hands reaching for mine as she smiles with all the fondness for me I have never forgotten in our time apart.

'Well since you obviously know, why don't you tell me? And by the way, real or not, I'm overwhelmed to see you again' I tell her, holding her soft hands tightly whilst feelings of sadness that this isn't real rise up within me.

'You're still as much as a smart ass as you ever were, not even vampirism could change that about you my precious one' she replies, one hand letting go of mine to stroke my cheek as she keeps on smiling at me. 'I love you so much son, even in death my love for you grows even more through the ages as I watch over you. So seeing you in anguish unsettles me, and I do not want that to be, which explains why I am here in your dream. Talk to me, tell me about her, and then tell me why you are too proud to claim her as your lady' she then adds, her other hand returning to mine.

'This is something I've never done as a vampire, having a partner, someone else to care about and also have the burden that comes with that; worrying for her. For her safety, for the fact that other vampires can and will try and use her against me. It is not good for us to have a weak spot that can be manipulated. And I do not want any harm to come to her' I reply, candidly and honestly as I always would do with my mother.

'And because of what she is, with you is the safest place in the world for her to be. Do not underestimate your strength, even before you were a vampire you were frightfully strong my boy. And also, I sense you have a fear of 'what if I enter a relationship with her, and I do not like it?' yes?' She then asks me.

'Yes, true' I reply.

'How can you know you will not like it if you have not tried it? Isn't that the very thing you said to Tyra when she refused to have sex with you the first time?' she then puts to me.

'Again, true' I reply, realizing she has me there as I begin to smile somewhat uncomfortably at her.

'Well you have tried it haven't you? These past three, almost four months really have been like a test run for you. And yet you still cannot decide? Come on Eric; give me the real reason towards your reluctance? Scared of what the other vampires will think of you if the big, bad Eric Northman has a girlfriend? Why the hell shouldn't you? And since when has it been anyone else's business but yours, what you do and who you take to bed? Just because it's one woman does not mean you should think less of yourself, or this image of you that you present as a vampire. A complete whore if I am honest' she tells me firmly, giving me a look that says 'and do not try to lie to me'. So simply, I don't.

'Perhaps there is that, yes. And I suppose you are right, the opinions of others are something I've never sought the approval of. But still, I do not know' I reply, knowing whatever it is now that is holding me back is something I cannot freely recognise to even verbally acknowledge it.

'Then perhaps there is someone else you should be speaking to. All I will leave you with is thus, do what you want to do because it is what YOU want, not what others expect. I love you son' she replies, rising to her feet as she lets go of my hands and then walks around to my side of the table, puts her arms around me and kisses my head, and then with one last look dripping with motherly love she turns and walks away into the darkness once more. And then the next figure appears in front of me, this time not my maker in a parental sense, but in the vampiric one.

'So Godric, what are you here to tell me' I ask, watching him just stand fixed to the spot behind the other chair opposite.

'Quite simply, what she said' he replies, pointing in the direction my mother walked away in. And that is all he says, because in the next moment I turn back, see nothing, and then suddenly wake again, blinking a few times, remembering the dream fully and then closing my eyes and falling asleep once more. Sometimes, I really do hate dreams. I hate having my subconscious thoughts presented to me like that, at a time when I'm supposed to be at peace from thinking about anything at all. I know when I wake up she'll be on my mind again too, and because of that I think I've just decided that I cannot tolerate any more of this. It has to end.

Tyra's POV.

'Here, this one is demure but still stylish, and the colour is beautiful too don't you think?' Jesus, Lafayette's boyfriend tells me as the two help me shop for a dress to wear at my goddaughter Myra's christening. It's nice, how close I've become to Lafayette and his now firm boyfriend Jesus. They're a nice couple, and since they both enjoy going shopping a hell of a lot more than I do, they're perfect people to take with me to help me choose on a dress suitable enough for church, yet without making me look like a frigid spinster.

'Gentleman, I think we might have a winner' I say as I stand in front of one of the mirrors and Jesus places the deep aubergine coloured dress in front of me so I can get a first look of how it might look wearing it, and then decide to go straight to the changing room to actually try it on properly. Only when I get there, with Lafayette hovering by the entrance ready for me to come and show him how it looks while Jesus busies himself in the men's section, I find that quite embarrassingly, it doesn't fit.

'Big poppa, run out and get me it in a ten would you please?' I ask him as I poke my head around from behind the black curtain shielding me, and hold out the dress to him.

'Oh dear ice princess, do we have a hips and tummy situation going on here?' he asks me, his voice full of jokey mirth.

'Yes we do, I haven't had sex for six weeks so my substitute has been Oreo's. And you know I can't have just one' I reply, while he nods knowingly.

'Hah! I've seen you eat a whole damn packet with my own eyes girl so I know that fo' sho'! I'll be back' he then says as he takes the dress for me and goes out to fetch the next size up, returning quickly and handing it to me through the curtain once more. And when I try it on thank goodness it actually does fit me, phew. Going up one size because I'm not getting anything up to thirty hours of sex a week I can handle, if I'd have gone up two I probably would have cried. I can be a typical woman sometimes. It's time to up my running and cut down on my cookie consumption, at least until I'm having regular sex again. With whom though, right now I just do not know.

'I think we need to take you over there next, for a low fat way of sating your sexual appetite' Jesus tells me once I've paid for the dress and we've all left the store, pointing across the road to a sex shop while I laugh hard in reply.

'I tried toys, I end up breaking them. Those little motors cannot keep up with what I've become accustomed to' I reply, while him and Lafayette snort with naughty laughter.

'Well in that case, perhaps we should take you to the heavy machinery surplus centre and get you a pneumatic drill. That should be able to match the stamina of a vampire, don't you think honey?' Jesus then replies, addressing a laughing Lafayette at the end of his sentence.

'Definitely' he replies, while I just shake my head.

'You're both incorrigible!' I exclaim through my laughter as we arrive back at where I parked my car, all beautifully pristine after the front right wing was replaced and re sprayed. We get in and head back to Bon Temps, them going back up to Lafayette's house to enjoy the rest of their day before I head back off my afternoon client, a vampire who owns and operates a small gallery just before you turn onto the highway for Shreveport, right on the borders of my hometown and luckily not so far to come back battling through the traffic later this afternoon. And after I've made myself comfortable behind the desk of Percy Stanford, the museum's curator and owner I ease into my work, while chuckling to myself at various intervals as I remember the fun I had this morning with my friends. I'm absolutely thrilled for Lafayette now he and Jesus are officially together, but right now a little cloud is cast over that happiness for them since my own love life is currently hanging in the balance. And to be honest, I think it's going to be left hanging really.

I've stated my case to Eric, I've told him I accept him for who and what he is, but yet it is he who seems to have decided that isn't good enough for me. And this is something that I really cannot help but see as just an excuse for him not to commit to me, because let's face it; if he really wanted to he would have by now. I came to that conclusion about three weeks ago, three weeks since I'd last seen him at the time; even though it was my idea that we part ways for a while to think things through. I don't want to judge him harshly, and of course I am well aware how much of a big thing this is for him, entering a set up he has not enjoyed since he was a human all those years ago. It's bound to be hard for him. But again, to be honest, I just do not think I am what he's going to choose. He keeps on putting up all these barriers and excuses not to be with me, even though for the most part those excuses mean nothing to me. It's almost like he doesn't want to accept that I accept him; like he cannot believe anyone would and therefore is throwing the baby out with the bathwater if you will.

This thing, whatever it is with him, is becoming more of a burden than it is a joy right now, and making me wonder one thing. Is he worth it? My head screams no, but my heart...my heart has missed him, my heart skips a beat when I think of him, my heart is where he has found a little place, even if I can vehemently state I am not in love with him. It takes me a long time to build up to that level of emotional intimacy. But at this stage, I know I am very fond of him, and I know I have missed him very much since I last saw him too. Every time I have been to Fangtasia to collect the box file of paperwork I have lingered for just a second, looking over to the basement doors that lead down to his apartment, and just wishing he would burst through them and tell me I'm all he wants. I sound like a fucking romance novel leading lady don't I? I know, it's pathetic, especially since at this point in time I really do doubt I'll end up with what I want; him. Oh well, we can't always have what we want can we? I must be adult and accept it too; if it does turn out that he doesn't want me like I want him. Yeah Tyra, you've definitely tiptoed your way into sounding like your average, heartsick pathetic female. I disgrace myself sometimes.

Shaking my head so all thoughts of Eric fall free from it I continue with my work, barely noticing the two hours that pass before I'm finished and ready to leave, locking Percy's office behind me and leaving the keys with gallery manager Audrey, the human woman who runs the place for him when obviously he cannot during the daylight hours (he works the night since the gallery is open twenty four hours a day to cater to vampire patrons too) and then head down the spiral iron staircase and out the front door, around to the rear where I throw myself into my car and put my foot on the gas, wanting to get home as fast as I can so I can go and enjoy a nice bath and soak my aching feet. I foolishly decided to break in my new shoes on my shopping trip with the boys earlier, and my feet are swollen, rubbed and sore because of it.

'Oh great, you timed that one well' I mutter sarcastically to myself as I hit a long line of school busses heading back to the city bus depot after dropping their cargos of children back to their respective neighbourhoods, which I am now going to be stuck behind here in the tailback at the main junction for at least twenty minutes as they all wait patiently to filter through at the traffic lights and off the main road itself. It gives me time to take my pinching shoes off and let some air get to my feet at least, and also read the two messages I just heard my cell beep to alert me to their presence, and so pull my cell from my purse under the driver's seat (you can never be too careful, lots of smash and grab style robberies happen to women alone in their cars who leave their purse on display) and unlock the keypad to see a message from Anna asking me which store I brought my gunmetal coloured eyeliner from and what brand it is, and another from Eric.

'Are you going to be at home (and preferably alone) tonight?' it reads.

'Yes I will, come by any time after dark' I casually reply, while inside my heart races at a million miles an hour at the evidence presented to me, that he wants to see me which basically means he's made his mind up, and in just a few hours time I will know what he's chosen. And now to find a million and one things to do to occupy my mind in the time between, starting firstly by sitting in this line of traffic for an incredible thirty minute before the way is clear and I can manage to get home just after five. This doesn't impress me when I left the museum at a quarter to four. Arriving at my house I see the first job I can do before going for a bath to keep me busy, and that is to sweep up the front porch, so I go inside and put my stuff down, then head back out with my broom and begin to sweep, aided by Poontang when she comes back from her stroll around the forest and begins attacking the broom I'm using. She's entertaining if nothing else. And once I'm done I scoop her up in my arms and carry her and the broom back inside, telling her all about my day as I do and setting her down on the work surface in the kitchen while I go and put the broom back in my utility cupboard and then prepare her some dinner before going to run myself a bath. And the bath really is as far as I get with occupying myself for the next few hours, since the hot water is so soothing to my aching feet and my tired head that pretty much as soon as I get in, I fall asleep. And I fall asleep for so long that when I wake up again I'm not sure if I really am awake or asleep, since I can feel someone stroking my head, and a familiar voice softly speaking my name.

'Tyra, Tyra, wake up' Eric tells me, while I blink rapidly a few times and rub my eyes to wake myself up.

'When did you get here?' I ask him sleepily, taking two hands full of water and splashing my face before reaching quickly for my face wash since rubbing my eyes has probably left me looking like a panda what with all the dark makeup I was wearing today.

'About ten minutes ago, I knocked and got no answer, I tried calling you but you didn't answer, and since your car was here and all the lights were on I was concerned, so I let myself in and well, here is where I found you' he replies as I rinse my face and turn back to look at him, watching him stand up and pick a towel from the rail, opening it up for me to step into, which I do as soon as I exit the bath, feeling him wrap me up in it and then wrap his arms around me. 'Get yourself dry and dressed, I shall wait in the lounge' he then adds, before turning and leaving me to do just that, and quickly too. I wrap my hair in another smaller towel and then race through to my bedroom to dress myself in a simple pale pink shirt and a pair of cut off jeans shorts before heading back out (minus both towels) to him, picking up a comb and going through my hair with it as I sit down next to him, clipping it back and then putting the comb down to give him my full attention.

'So, I notice this is two weeks early from what we originally agreed, so that can only mean you've made your mind up about us?' I ask him, sounding way, way more confident than I feel inside.

'Yes I have. And I want to be honest too, and that is to state that I am completely and utterly fed up of all this bullshit. It has to come to an end' he tells me, making my heart sink in my chest like a stone thrown into a lake.

'I understand' I reply quietly, dropping my head and nodding as I look down at my feet, not wanting him to see how sad my face must look right now.

'No, I don't think you do' he replies, reaching out to put a finger under my chin and lift my head until I'm looking at him again, and then leaning in to plant a soft kiss upon my lips. 'The bullshit I am referring to is every single excuse I've thrown at this to stop myself from taking what I want, and calling her mine. And in that, I am hers too. And yes, before you ask the 'her' I am referring to is you' he adds as he begins to smile at me, and I'm simply lost for words I'm so happy with his decision.

'And your fear of not being able to commit to me, how does that stand now?' I ask him, wanting to know no matter what he's just confirmed to me.

'I have to be honest once more and say I was untrue to you, just the once. And in doing so it tested me, because the woman I took to the basement was only there for an hour before I was bored, and therefore knew the only woman I wanted was you. It's that simple, and simple is nice since thus far everything between you and I has been awfully, awfully complicated. It'll be nice to have some simplicity for a change' he tells me, while I nod in reply.

'I won't hold it against you, like I stated, faithfulness was something I never expected. But now it seems that's what I'm going to receive from you, well, it's a nice surprise. And yes I agree, simplicity will be nice' I reply, smiling a touch wider as I lean in and receive another kiss from him immediately.

'So let's start as we mean to go on, you can let me do a simple thing for you right now and rub those very sore looking feet for you, as any good boyfriend would. Even though that term does sicken me to my stomach' he says simply a he pulls my legs onto his lap and begins to rub my very sore toes.

'So you're my boyfriend now huh, in as many words?' I ask him.

'Yes, but if you ever refer to me as that I will have to kill you' he replies, while I just eyeball him for a few moments before laughing.

'Okay, the 'b' word will never cross my lips. At least not in front of you' I reply.

'Good' he tells me simply, giving me a quick wink and a smile before going back to rubbing my feet, while I sit back and enjoy it. Ahhhh, the simple things. How nice to finally be able to fully enjoy them, with my boyfriend. Not that I'm allowed to call him that of course. But I don't care, he's my Eric and that's good enough for me.

**Authors note - Who's wonderful? I'll give you three guesses...YOU ARE WONDERFUL! Each and every one of you who tirelessly read and review this story are all thanked from the bottom of my heart, you really do make a difference! Keep those reviews coming everyone! I really do love to know what you think of the chapters you've just read :) xxx**


	31. Chapter 31

**WARNING - Chapter contains scenes of a sexual nature, you know the drill!**

Tyra's POV.

'You know, when I said come back to the club to spend some time with me, this wasn't exactly what I'd envisioned' Eric tells me as he walks up behind me downstairs in his apartment at around midnight, where I'm sitting on the couch with my laptop in front of me rested on my crossed legs.

'If I get all this done now then I'll be able to do just that though' I reply as I turn to look at him, being met with a frown.

'You've been working away for the last two hours Tyra, you really do work too hard. A commendable quality yes, but not when your vampire hasn't seen you for six weeks it isn't' he replies, leaning down and resting his chin on my shoulder as he tries to take charge of the mouse pad and close my files down.

'No, stop it, ERIC!' I begin in warning. 'Please! Just let me finish this one sheet and I'm done, I promise!' I then add when he still keeps trying to interfere with my work.

'You better be' he warns me, kissing my cheek and leaving me alone to finish, telling me he'll wait upstairs for me while I finish, and that if I'm any longer than half an hour he'll 'drag you upstairs by your ankles and let your head hit every step on the way up' as he words it. Charming huh? I wouldn't have him any other way though, I like his black humour. And once I'm done I put my laptop away back in my work bag, and then dive headfirst into the bag of clothes I brought with me (figuring I'll be here for a few days in between going home to feed and water Poon) for something a little more dressy to wear. Fangtasia does have a dress code, and I do respectfully adhere to it. Plus, I'm the boss's girlfriend now; it's kind of my duty to look good for him. Hell, this might sound terribly old fashioned but I've always believed in looking good for my man. And this one is no exception. I pull out my long black caftan style top and a big chunky black belt and decide that a simple, understated look with lots of leg on show will be my chosen one for tonight and then wiggle my way out of my tiny cut off denim shorts and pink shirt and into the caftan, belting it at the waist and then adding a couple of items of jewellery, a pewter necklace with lots of little feather and star adornments to it and some plain matching bangles of the same metal, and then a little extra makeup and a flick of a brush through my hair are all I need before I'm all ready to head upstairs, jamming my feet into a pair of high heels (thanks to Eric's treating of my feet to a rub and also applying a little of his blood to the rubbed sores they are back in pristine condition again) and heading out and up the stairs, finding him there on the stage in his usual place, and a chair drawn up to the side of his with a glass of red wine placed on a small table to its side, the bottle next to it. Now that is what I call attentive.

'You look stunning as always' he says in greeting as I sit down, taking my hand and kissing my fingers in full view of the whole club. I notice right away that some of the fang bangers who frequent the club on almost a nightly basis take note straight away, and that the presence of a woman by the side of the vampire they lust over is not a welcome one it would seem. Sure, people have seen me around here before, but until now Eric has rarely, if ever, acted affectionately towards me in public. And his continual holding of my hand seems to aggravate them even more.

'Thank you, enemy number one likes to look her best' I reply, Eric getting what I mean straight away as he looks out over the crowd, snorts with a small burst of dark laughter, and then looks right back at me.

'Oh yes, it would appear you're not popular right now wouldn't it? Well you're popular with me, and that is all that matters' he replies, squeezing my hand a little tighter while I smile proudly. I'm now in a relationship with perhaps the most fearsome, revered, handsome and lusted after vampire in the whole of Louisiana; what's not to feel proud about? At last, he is mine and I am his, and no amount of dirty looks in my direction will change that, or put a damper on it either. He's all mine, get used to it ladies and gentlemen. But even still, I think it's going to take me a while to get used to this, being with someone and that someone being him; a vampire I considered completely unattainable for a time. And so me and my (for a time) unattainable vampire sit and observe the club and talk casually as I drink my wine, before he suddenly stands and pulls me up from my seat, leading me back down to his apartment again.

'That's enough showing you off for one evening. I think I'd just like to have you all to myself' he tells me once we're back behind the closed door again, slipping his arms around me and slowly running them down my back and under my caftan, his fingers circling my bum cheeks as he begins kissing the side of my neck.

'And it won't take me two guesses to work out why you want me all to yourself either' I reply, my fingers beginning to open the buttons on the deep green shirt he's wearing before I've even registered it, catching his lips in a kiss when his mouth moves from my neck again.

'No, it really shouldn't' he replies, our kiss breaking only for him to be able to utter those words before we're locked at the mouth once more in a slow, yet passionate kiss, removing each other of our clothes as we slowly make our way to the bed, abandoning the undressing process for a few moments when we're there, just stroking and kissing each other as we lay side by side. But, the softer nature of our want for each other is only displayed as that for mere moments, until he moves to lie on top of me, his hands hungrily pawing at me and my clothes, while I run my hands up and down his shoulders, pulling his shirt off and then running my fingers through his hair as we kiss, just his weight pressed onto my body alone making me feel indescribably turned on, his hard body merging with mine as his hands ran all over me, bit by bit my nakedness being revealed to him as his hands carefully and quickly remove my clothes. His lips leave mine to plant a trail of kisses all over my neck, the kind of kisses that render my whole body immobile, slowly sliding down to my collarbones and then to my nipples, licking and sucking them into stiffened peaks as his hand pushes between my legs and begins to stimulate me through the underwear he hasn't yet removed. I do not want to lie here idle and be the sole receiver of pleasure though, so reach down and graze my nails across his taut stomach muscles, stopping when I reach his belt and beginning to undo it at speed. I don't just want him, I _need_ him, need him badly. The craving for the feel of him against me for the last six weeks has been like nothing I've ever known, and from the speed he removes my underwear with, and the ferocity he kisses me with as he removes himself of the rest of his clothes too, I'd say that feeling was totally mutual. I feel his hand brush between my legs for only a moment, giving my clit a few strokes before I feel his dick pushing into me, his hands stroking my legs as he fills me completely.

He's only on top of me for a few moments, and before I know it he's turned onto his back and I'm on top of him, his one hand running through my hair and then slowly down my back, pressing me firmly to him as we kiss and his other hand finds it's way between my legs, his thumb rubbing a circle on my clit. He then moves both his hands around to grip my ass, holding me to him firmly as he enters me with hard strokes, my clit being stimulated now by how hard I'm pressed against him, moaning loudly as I lick and bite his chest. Oh I swear I'm so turned on right now the level of arousal that burns through me is lethal; it's a damn good job the man I'm having sex with is a vampire, because I have some serious frustrations to work out. And work them out I do, sitting up and sinking down on as much as his dick as I can, feeling that painful yet pleasurable tingle of being filled so deeply, my nails digging into his stomach as I start grinding away on top of him at speed, sinking down hard and crying out each time the thickened head of his hardness pushes against my g spot, my inner muscles tightening around him, constricting him in liquid heat. And before long each nerve ending throughout my groin begins to pulse with that spark of pure euphoria, each thrust into my sensitive core so stimulating, so deep, my orgasm reduces me to a groaning, shuddering wreck on top of him, falling down onto his chest as my arms and legs shake. And after a few moments of feeling too raw and oversensitive to even think about moving again, I want to feel what I just did all over, and so resume my movements against his dick inside of me as I lick and kiss his chest, working my way back up to hi mouth.

As we kiss I feel him sitting up, crossing his legs underneath me as his upper body presses to mine, his hands pressing into my back before running down it slowly, reaching my ass and gripping each cheek in each big hand as I grind against him hard and slow, my arms around his neck as we kiss, my tongue being pricked by his fangs and leaving a metallic taste of copper in my mouth as it bleeds a little. Opening my legs wider I move my hands and rest them behind me, leaning back on his dick and feeling it really grind against my g spot as I use my legs to begin to slam myself up and down his massive length, eyes screwed tightly shut as I throw my head back and cry out over and over again, even louder when I feel one of his hands move from my ass, and then use his thumb to rub my clit. It feels borderline intolerably good, pleasure pulsing through me so strongly I know I'm going to cum again soon, but then feeling bereft when he moves quickly and withdraws his dick from me, pushing me flat on my back and kissing me hungrily from my navel to my clit, licking it with firm strokes, rolling the tip of his tongue over it again and again. And then starts to move it so unnaturally quickly I can barely stand how good it feels, so good that my nails tear five gashes straight down each of his arms that heal themselves again quickly, while one hand moves down between my legs and two, then three fingers push slowly into my pussy.

'Ohhhhh, mmmmmmmm' I moan softly and deliriously, running my fingers through his hair, my whole abdomen shaking with the extreme feeling of oversensitivity when he begins to suck on my clit hard, driving his tongue against the tip of it at the same time and making orgasm number two hit me in intense waves, that are repeated many, many more times as the night turns to morning, and we finally begin to tire to a much slower pace before stopping completely and falling asleep entangled around each other at about 5am. And after a lovely, undisturbed nine hours of sleep I'm the first to wake up again, and quietly slip out from my position of being partially covered by a still sleeping Eric in the bed and out of it silently, heading into the bathroom and straight for the shower once I've brushed my teeth. The nice hot water acts as therapy to my tired body, waking me up nicely as I wash and condition my hair, and then just enjoy standing there having the two powerful jets of water that come from either side of the wall in the huge corner shower hit me, and then sense something else here with me before I feel him, or rather his lips kissing me between my shoulder blades, and his hands massaging my breasts as they creep slowly around my body. And even though he doesn't even say one single word to me, through touch alone he communicates exactly what's going through his mind, gently pushing me forward until I'm pressed flat against the tiled wall, and then kissing me all the way down my spine.

I'm then surprised at the feeling of my ass cheek being bitten, the sharp piercing of his teeth into it making me jump, but then the pleasure of his hand moving between my legs, opening them wider and then the feel of one of his fingers pushing inside me makes any pain I feel subside at the pleasure of having my g spot stroked firmly. And while he does that his other hand reaches around and fingers begin to rub my clit, his lips kissing my ass cheeks, my lower back, the back of my thighs, making me begin to tremble with want very quickly, my breaths coming out in short, sharp blasts, my soft moan echoing off the walls of the shower as the finger stimulating me is joined by a second and pushing even further inside me, and even harder too, making me bite my lip with the agonisingly erotic torment I feel bestowed on me, my ass cheek being bitten hard once again, and then slapped even harder. And then he moves the two fingers inside my pussy and pushes them straight up my ass instead, his other hand's fingers still working furiously at my clit, rubbing it fast and hard as I feel him standing up slowly again, kissing my back as he does, his mouth reaching my neck and pulling all my hair over my other shoulder, out of the way of each hungry kiss bestowed onto it. And then the next thing I feel is his fingers retreating from inside me, and his big hard dick pushing slowly in to fill the space they left even more tightly, causing pain yet strong tingles of pleasure so delicious they make the pain worth it, pain that subsides nicely and leaves only pleasure after a few moments.

He then pulls me backward by my hips until I'm bent at the waist, the jet of water hitting me square in the back as I press my hands into the tiled wall in front of me, groaning heavily as once again his dick slowly retreats from my ass and then pushes firmly back in, fingers still busy playing with my clit, the other hand running down my spine, a deep growl coming from his throat at the same time as I feel his fangs suddenly pierce my shoulder, the hand that isn't between my legs grabbing a handful of my hair and pulling my head back, kissing the side of my neck as I feel him sink into me even deeper. It feels so good, so naughty, so insanely pleasurable it doesn't take long for me to feel my body burning its way to orgasm, everything inside feeling tight and tingly, every muscle contracting until...

'Ahhhhhhhhhhhh, mmmmmm damn!' I exclaim, only just about able to find my voice since the orgasm that rips through me takes away my power of speech for a few seconds, long enough for him to pull out, turn me around, kiss me forcefully and then lift me up and pin me against the wall while his dick finds the entrance to my pussy and plunges straight in deep, fucking me hard while I cling on around him, kissing him fiercely, arousal powering through me so strongly I feel almost blinded by it, by him, by this moment of erotic frenzy here in the shower. Frenzy that last for another hour, until my skin is wrinkled and I'm totally out of breath, being carried back to bed wrapped in towels, towels that are lazily cast onto the floor once we're both dry and wrapped up together under the covers again. And then finally, he speaks.

'No, no I don't think I'm done yet' he tells me, before literally pouncing on me once again. Two hours later and I'm back in the shower, and so is he. And from this snippet of the story entitled 'Tyra and Eric's new(ish) relationship' all you'd think we do is have sex. But, we do make time for other things too. Admittedly Eric isn't very social so socializing isn't something we're about to start doing, but as the days pass by I do come to notice now we are actually together he does surprise me in becoming a little more willing to leave the club on occasion, for destinations other than my home. Take three weeks from now for instance, after being away from him for the majority of that time save a few days, getting caught up in my work life more than my romantic one and leaving him on the back burner while I got caught up with all my files and invoices, visiting clients and gaining a few new ones thanks to the ad I placed in the paper recently, I headed over to stay with him for a couple of days and he surprised me by actually wanting to go somewhere with me other than bed. It's not like we've turned into your typical suburban couple or anything (me and Eric? Oh god, you can't be serious!), but it would seem he is keener now to actually do more with me than talk, watch movies (some, he doesn't have the patience for a lot of them), read or have sex. Like tonight when I arrived and realized that I'd not brought the books I intended on reading, so decided the hell with it and that I wanted to go and blow some cash at Shreveport mall and buy the books I couldn't afford to purchase as well when I'd originally brought the ones I left at home tonight.

'I'll come with you, I'll drive too' he told me before he was on his feet, jacket on and keys in hand all ready to go. And so in just under forty minutes we're both separately walking around the six floor bookstore perusing various titles.

'Oooh, I can't really afford you, but I just cannot leave you behind' I say out loud with a little bit of excitement as I spy a beautiful hardback book with a glossy bound cover depicting a picture of it's title, a Samurai. Samurai warriors have always loosely fascinated me but I'm yet to really learn more about them. And so off the shelf and on top of the little pile I'm already carrying it goes, all five hundred pages and eighty five dollars of it. What's that sound I hear you ask? That's the sound of my MasterCard about to start crying, because believe me it's going to take one hell of a battering when we eventually reach the cash register; even more so when I do get there and am greeted by Eric, and another book.

'Karma Sutra: The extended version. And here I was thinking the original was quite long enough' I say, hearing the young girl behind the register try to bite back a laugh she doesn't quite manage. 'And by the way, I would have thought someone of your age would probably know all of these off the top of his head anyway?' I then say as I turn to look up at Eric.

'I will admit there are a couple in there I haven't tried before, so I think you should purchase it. And I fully intend to make it very much worth your while if you do, by going through it from cover to cover with you. No matter how long that takes' he replies, while I just smirk and quip and eyebrow, turning back to the girl at the register who is biting her lip this time in order not to laugh, looking a little shocked too.

'We'll be taking this one too' I tell her, flicking the corner of the book with my fingernail and then pulling my card from my wallet, all the time looking between the book and Eric, and being met with a wicked grin every time I do. He's so bad, but that is one of the reasons I like him. And although perhaps not very notable, I do enjoy our bookstore outing, but the one after that is much more substantial. The next one we take involves crossing an ocean, travelling to Norway to visit Agnes at her request which was made on her recent trip to Louisiana of course. I asked Eric if he wanted to recently, after Agnes had made contact to check on how I was and if things with Eric were progressing, and he agreed. Well, he agreed in his usual round about way.

'Whether I want to go or not, you are not travelling alone' is how he answered me. To be honest I think he's looking forward to it a little, especially since we plan to travel back home to Sweden for a couple of days at the end of our trip. It'll be really great to go, I haven't been home in almost eight years now and I miss it. What is sad though is that Pam is staying behind to handle things at the club, and I really would have loved to have had her come too. Especially since Agnes did extend the invitation to her too. But I am looking forward to being with Eric and not having work to worry about, since he's banned me from taking my laptop with me. And to see Agnes again too, she was kind to me and her wisdom just fascinates me. I feel privileged to mix in such circles now because of my relationship with Eric, the people (well, vampires) I'm getting to meet. And on the night before we leave to no doubt meet more, I pack my clothes and enjoy one last quiet relaxing night at home with Eric, and my cat too who will be cared for by Lafayette while we're away. Right now she's playing with a bell adorned stuffed mouse toy under my bed, while I fold clothes and put them into the suitcase laid out on top of it. And in perhaps record time, I'm all done and so tow my case out of my bedroom, down the small hallway and out towards the front door, where it will stay next to the travel casket parked there with Eric's belongings too. We're due to leave here at 5am tomorrow morning, and because of the early sunrise of summer of course he will have to sleep in there for the duration of the direct flight to Oslo, and depending on what time we arrive maybe for the duration of the connecting flight we have to take up to Nordland, where Agnes' palace ('it's more of a large castle really' so she described her homestead) is situated, right up in the north.

'You're done already?' Eric asks me, looking at his watch and then back at me incredulously, while I just stand and nod.

'And what's so hard to believe about that?' I ask him, folding my arms.

'Granted, you aren't typically female but I was expecting that perhaps you might be in your decision of what clothes to take and not to take. That is usually something that puts you women in a flap' he replies, while I just shake my head.

'Sorry to disappoint you there, but as you know I can make decisions quite quickly, and talking of quick decisions I've decided I want to go and take a run quickly before I hit the hay for a few hours. Do you mind?' I ask him, unbuttoning the white blouse I'm wearing and then sliding my pinstripe pencil skirt off.

'Of course not, as long as you let me help you continue your work out when you get back' he replies with a wink and a small smile, while I bundle up my clothes and take them with me to stuff into the washing basket, and then quickly change into my sweats and an under bust vest top, coming back out and giving my vampire a big kiss and promising him I'll be back in half an hour, leaving him sitting quietly reading as I head out to the forest and do some stretches to warm my muscles up, before breaking into a gentle jog.

'Tyra, you will be most at home continuing with your jogging around the palace grounds and surrounding woods. There are so many wolves there too, and I bet right now as you run they'll all be running along after their queen. It'll be an experience you will no doubt enjoy greatly' Agnes told me in a telephone conversation a couple of days ago, and I must say I am looking forward to it very much, spending time with the animals I am the queen of. It still hasn't really sunk in very much I have to say, and perhaps spending time in their company, and that of werewolves too, it might make it all fit in my head a little better than it does at present. And as I run, beginning to get up quite a speed I think about the company I'm going to be keeping when I do arrive in Norway, and it is at that moment that I sense I have company right now too here in the forest. Slowing down, and then coming to a gentle stop not far from a big clearing I turn around, and see something shadowy about twenty feet behind me back along the track, something that looks like it's hovering. And as it gets closer I realize it is actually hovering, toes dragging along the ground and making an eerie scraping noise.

'What the hell is that thing?' I whisper to myself as it becomes clearer, and I study it a little closer to see that the slowly moving thing is what appears to be a floating corpse, its eyes completely white and skin mouldy and shrivelled and looking to be in the early stages of decay. And whatever it is, it doesn't look like its particularly friendly. And it definitely looks like it's coming after me, and so I turn and run, as fast as I can taking a shortcut I know will lead back to the lake outside my house, just hoping that thing behind me continues to move at its slow, trance like pace so I can get back to safety in time. No such luck though, for when I turn again I see its advanced on me and is now hovering along just ten feet or less behind me, it's white eyes fixed on me and a horrible, rattling sound coming from its open mouth. There's only one thing to do here.

'ERIC!' I roar at the top of my voice as my legs propel me forward even more, yet begin to feel heavy as the fear sets in. I'm not usually scared, but c'mon if a floating corpse was following you through a forest wouldn't you be just a touch unnerved? And then before I can feel that fear build any further my vampire appears in front of me, stopping me with his hands.

'What the hell is that thing?' I ask him when I come to a stop against the buffer that is his outstretched hands. He doesn't answer me at once though, just picks me up and moves me at speed another twenty foot backward, pulling is cell from his pocket and calling someone while the creature advances on us still.

'Pam I need you to come to the forest by Tyra's house at once. She'll need your help getting me home' he tells her urgently before hanging up again. 'That creature is a soul reaper, an enchanted dead body controlled by witchcraft, and its here for you. But it's got to get past me first, and it won't. But I might not be so lucky in avoiding peril, and you must stay back, do not try to help me until it's totally motionless' he then adds, before looking at me intently for a second, kissing me and then flying at the creature I know now to be a soul reaper with his fangs bared, advancing on it and grabbing it by its throat before sinking his teeth into it and beginning to drain it. And as he does it I hear a horrible noise, a noise I can only imagine comes from someone when they are dying in a lot of pain, and I'm horrified once I realize that noise is not coming from the soul reaper; it's coming from Eric. And all I can do is stand there and watch, until he finally lets go of the creature and drops it's shrivelled, drained corpse onto the floor, his mouth, neck and chest soiled with what looks like black blood dripping from his mouth, black blood he begins to cough up, hacking like someone suffering with lung cancer before he falls to the floor motionless. What the hell is happening to him? What did that soul reaper thing do to him? I move to his side quickly and feel so fucking helpless, just watching him lying there barely conscious, sounding like he's in a lot of pain as he groans quietly on the floor. And then before I can panic any further Pam is there by my side in a matter of minutes, pulling me up by my shoulders and then bending to throw Eric over her shoulder.

'We have no time to waste Tyra, I have to get him back to the club as quickly as I can, you get yourself there in your car, I cannot carry the pair of you I'm not strong enough' she tells me.

'Pam what's happening to him? What's wrong with him and why can't he move himself?' I ask her urgently.

'He's dying' she tells me, before vanishing and leaving me feeling like true, undiluted horror is flooding through my veins.

**Authors note - Once again thank you for the continued reads and reviews, you know who you are ;) and you're very much appreciated! Keep it up! xxx**


	32. Chapter 32

Pam's POV.

Frantic and terrified, those two words sum up perfectly how I feel right now. Yet I cannot give in to them, not even a flicker as I tear through the club at speed with Eric over my shoulder, coming to a stop down in his apartment after roaring 'DEBORAH!' at the top of my lungs on my way down, needing the bar manager for more than she is paid to do right now, and needing her quickly.

'You called me...oh my god what's wrong with him?' she says seconds later as she appears in the doorway and jogs over to where I'm now hauling Eric's lifeless body along the floor toward the bathroom, my strength well and truly zapped after having to carry him at speed back here. The older the vampire the stronger they are, and I'm only one hundred and thirty eight years old, meaning I've been only just about strong enough to get him back here, and hopefully in time to save him too. Thank god he educated me well over everything in the supernatural realm, as I know exactly what to do to try and recover a vampire from this sort of poisoning.

'I don't know how much you know about it, but if it isn't much now is NOT the time to question me over it. He drained a soul reaper and its dead blood is poisoning him. I need to drain him and to do that I need to feed first, which is where you come in. And then I need to feed him, again where you come in' I tell her quickly, so quickly I'm surprised she understands my thousand miles an hour words as I gabble them at speed, offering me her wrist that I bite into and feed from in an instant, before hauling Eric up so he's resting against the edge of the bath and then sinking my teeth into his neck and sucking out a mouthful of blood to spit it straight into the tub. And it's revolting, nauseating tasting, dead blood, a poison to vampires so strong I'm now gripped with panic over whether or not I can actually save him. But nothing will stop me from trying with everything I have within me, for this is my maker, my father, my best friend, my everything lying here without a flicker of life in him. I cannot let him die. And so I continue to suck mouthful after mouthful of poisoned, blackened blood from his body, spitting out each vile mouthful while Deborah looks on, trying to remain calm yet with features that betray her. It cannot be a particularly nice sight to witness, and it makes me glad Tyra isn't here to see it too. Steely and cool in a crisis she is; but when it involves Eric she has a tendency to lose her head a little. And why shouldn't she? He is her boyfriend after all. Even when he wasn't, I'd still know the depth of her feelings towards him.

Suddenly a wave of relief passes through me, as on one of the large intakes of blood into my mouth I feel him move a little, and then groan in pain as I'm spitting the mouthful into the blackened bathtub. It's working, just as it would work if a human had been bitten by a rattlesnake; except you don't need to drain a human dry of all their blood to suck out the poison like I have to do now. But he moved, he made a noise too and this is progress. It means the poison hasn't killed him instantly, and I know right now if it had been me to drain that reaper dry I'd be lying here dead; his strength and age have been factors to his advantage, although you wouldn't think it to behold him right now. He's beginning to look very, very ill.

'Okay, that's him dry. Come here and let your wound bleed out into his mouth' I tell Deborah, who nods and immediately comes to the edge of the tub, squeezing the top of her arm hard and making her blood flow from the holes my own fangs punctured and into his mouth that I hold open, my other hand at his throat massaging it vigorously in an attempt to make him swallow. It isn't something he's even strong enough to do himself right now, so I have to manipulate his throat until the muscles flex and spasm to invoke the swallowing reflex.

'I can call my mother if you think there's anything she can do to help him?' she asks me as we jointly try to keep feeding him, both looking relieved when he swallows again with my assistance. Deborah, as you know comes from a long line of vampire secret keepers, humans entrusted with our secret for years before we became public knowledge to exist for real rather than in books by the creations of Bram Stoker or Anne Rice. Her mother is also a natural witch, voodoo practitioner and healer, who of course will have a lot of knowledge on this.

'If you wouldn't mind, but just as soon as we've managed to get him to drink a little more. Thank you' I tell her, reaching to grip her hand for a moment to convey the weight of my appreciation of her gesture. She smiles in return before we go back to trying to administer blood to Eric, managing to get enough to keep him alive for now into him before I pick him up and carefully rush him to his bed, lying him down gently and then undressing him of his black blood soiled clothes before covering him over with the sheets, sitting down next to him and stroking his head.

'Don't you dare leave me; you're strong enough to fight this' I tell him firmly, bottling up the huge sob that hangs in my throat. I cannot be weak now; I must not crumble under the weight of my worry and emotions regarding him. I have to be strong for his sake, to get him through this.

'I just called mom, she's stuck at work but she told me she's sending someone better than she is with this. My grandma, and she'll be here within the hour' Deborah tells me. I nod and thank her, and just then my senses alert something moving quickly down the stairs and I look to the door to see it fly open, and stricken looking Tyra comes running in, grinding to a halt in front of me and staring at Eric, lifeless in the bed save a barely audible groan here and there.

'Deborah can you go to the bar and fetch a bottle of gin and a glass? I think my friend here is going to need it' I say as I stand, watching Deborah nod before she exits and leaves me to pull Tyra into a hug, something she looks like she needs.

'You said he was dying Pam, and right now I don't understand how, or what that thing was, or why it was after me or any of it!' she tells me, sounding as shaken as she looks.

'He still could die Tyra, I have to be honest with you and tell you right now he might not make it. The next forty eight hours are crucial. And as for what it was, as I said at the time that creature following him was a soul reaper, an enchanted dead body controlled by witchcraft and sent after a specific person to do as their name states, reap their soul. If Eric hadn't have drained it, right now you'd be just an empty husk, alive still but with no soul inside you. Nothing could have reversed that either. But, I've taken the steps already that will hopefully reverse the effects of what drinking the reapers blood had on him. You see their blood is dead blood, which as Eric might have told you we cannot drink from because effectively we are drinking pure death itself, it will kill us. So I had to drain all of it out of him, which is why the bathtub is covered in black blood right now, I had to suck it all out of him entirely before it poisoned him further. But in doing that, I had to totally drain him dry and could only get a small percentage of blood back into him since he's too weak to swallow. And because of the lack of blood it means he cannot fight off the lingering effects of the poisoned blood as well as he would normally be able to. Think of it like if a chemotherapy patient with their weakened immune system got an infection, they wouldn't be able to fight it properly. It's just like that with him right now' I reply, stroking her back soothingly as I hold her to me, and then let her go when she breaks away from me to sit on the bed next to him.

'And that thing was sent after me, he said it was coming for me before he drained it. He did this to himself to save me' she says in a small, lost voice, her eyes wide and frightened as she looks down at him, one hand moving to hold his, the other stroking the side of his face.

'Yes, he did. He knew full well what it would do to him too. So if you ever needed to know the weight of his feelings for you, there you have it. That's twice he's been prepared to die to save you now, the first time not totally because of you, but this time definitely so' I reply, and then regret my confirmation of this as she puts her hand to her mouth and begins to cry. 'And I know you're distressed, I can see that so clearly but you must try to hold yourself together, be strong for him too. He needs you to be strong for him Tyra' I then add, watching her nodding as she sniffs and dries her eyes quickly, only allowing herself those few moments to fall apart before practicality takes over.

'So what do we do now? Is there anything I can do for him?' she asks, her eyes only leaving him for a few seconds, stroking his head and soothing him when he groans weakly again.

'Keep him comfortable, because right now he'll be feeling so ill death would be welcome to him. I've met vampires who've drained a reaper before, and the experience does not sound pleasant by any stretch of the imagination. In fact a vampire you know drained one back in 1898, Fabien told me he felt like his insides were dying and that he'd never known agony like it when he told me of his experience with one. When you turn from human to vampire it's not a pleasant experience at all as you feel yourself die; he said reaper blood poisoning was ten times worse. And also, giving him your blood would be the other thing you could do for him, but of course you cannot do that without becoming bonded to him can you? So I would imagine that's something you won't want to do, without being able to discuss it with him first. Which is something you cannot do since he's barely conscious' I reply, watching her nodding as she stares on at him. 'And right now we have one of the most powerful and well respected witches in all of Louisiana on her way to help us too, Deborah's grandmother' I then add, just as Deborah herself comes back into the apartment and places a bottle of Tanqueray down on the nightstand and a glass next to it, pouring a large measure and passing it to a shaky handed Tyra.

'I'll come back down with grandma when she arrives' she tells me before leaving us alone again, Tyra knocking back the large measure of gin before pouring herself another. And it is here that I decide to leave her alone with him for a time, feeling like she probably wants to just sit alone and whisper fond words of encouragement to her lover, and so I leave her alone to do just that, promising to return when Deborah and her grandmother do. And it is with gladness that I leave her there with him, knowing he's with someone who cares about him as much as I do, someone who's affection for him I do hope will help him through this.

Tyra's POV.

'I hope you can hear me, I really hope you can understand this Eric. You've saved me again, and I cannot thank you enough for that. But I want to try, and for that you have to be awake, you have to get better. Don't you leave me, not now, not after we've only just properly got together, don't you dare die on me my beautiful vampire' I tell Eric as I rest my head on his chest, tears streaming from my eyes that I cannot find the strength to stop right now. I'm too scared, too scared that for the second time I'm about to lose him. He looks awful right now, almost grey in colour, and whenever he makes a noise it's that sounds like he's in tremendous amounts of pain. And this is all because of me, he did this to himself to save me and right now as romantic as it may be, my vampire standing in harm's way, prepared to die to save my life (or rather my soul which would have been taken from me; a thought so disturbing I cannot dwell on it at all), it makes me feel terrible that he's now going through this because of it. And I feel so helpless! I can't even do the one thing I know would assist in his recovery and feed him with my own blood, for then we will be bonded for life and that is something we just have not discussed yet. It's a decision I cannot and will not make without being able to consult him first. Right now I'm just thankful Deborah was here to provide the blood (it had to have come from her since there was no one else down here when I arrived) to rejuvenate his system, but still as Pam said, he still might not make it even though she did act like lightening striking in her speed to save him. I'll never be able to thank her enough for that.

'I'm not going to leave your side, not for one second. Not until you're okay again. Because you will be' I tell him, taking his hand and kissing it, feeling something close to relief (or as much as I dare feel) when I feel his thumb move just a fraction on my cheek, hearing him trying to mumble something as his eyes flicker open and he looks at me for a nanosecond before they fall closed again.

'Shhh, don't try to talk. Just know I'm here and I'm not leaving you' I tell him, stroking his head with my other hand, trying hard all over again to stop myself from crying, and managing it this time too while wiping my tears on the back of my hand as I keep staring at my Eric, hoping, praying even (and I'm not religious at all) that he will be okay. I still can't believe he did it for me, that he cares enough about me to risk his life for me. I know I'll never hear him confirm it in words, I have a feeling already that his affection for me will be more measurable in gestures rather than words. And that suits me fine, I just wish every time he shows how much he cares he doesn't put himself in mortal danger; within a whisper of his true death like he is now. I never thought he'd risk himself for anyone other than Pam or himself; but then again as I sometimes forget, very distantly I am his family as well as his woman. It's not surprising when I think of it like that. Suddenly I begin to feel quite weary, as the case is when you've had a massive shock and your body is firing off adrenaline to keep you going through the crisis, and then when you become still it all catches up with you. I don't feel tired per say, but like I could so with a little lie down so I get up off the bed and walk around to the empty side, and then lie down next to him, resting my head on my arm as I keep a watchful eye over him, my hand stroking the centre of his chest idly as I feel a worry line begin to crease my forehead. One I suspect will not go away again until I know he's going to be okay. And we're alone for approximately forty minutes before Pam and Deborah return, with a very, very tiny old lady who is possibly the only person who can tell us when he is likely to be better again; and if indeed he ever actually will be.

'Tyra, this is my grandmother Beth' Deborah says in way of introduction as she and the elderly lady make her way to the edge of the bed, Pam behind them carrying a very large bag.

'Pleased to meet you' I say as I sit up and offer her my hand across Eric, which she shakes with the kind of firmness you wouldn't expect for someone so tiny and weak looking as her, the many, many plastic and metal bracelets she wears on her wrist jangling loudly. But as soon as she opens her mouth, I discover weak is the last thing she is.

'You too my dear' she says, before turning and taking the heavy bag Pam clutches in her hands and putting it down on the side of the bed. 'Right, when did he drain the reaper? I need a precise time from someone who was there. Don't all speak at once or anything' she booms, adding heavy sarcasm to the end of her sentence when we remain silent for only a fraction of a second. She means business alright.

'Erm, I suppose it was some time before 9pm this evening' I reply after thinking for a few moments.

'Some time is no good! I need exact!' she bustles in reply, pulling jars with strange looking contents from her bag, and even stranger looking tools of her trade.

'I left the club at 8.59pm exactly because I remembered looking at the time on my cell when Eric called me to come and fetch him, which would have been literally moments before he drained the reaper' Pam interjects with, while I feel useless at not even being able to remember a time.

'Right, I think I'm going to get more sense out of you blondie number two, blondie number one I need you to move out of my way' she begins, her tone efficient and cool, her voice way bigger and bolder than her old, diminutive and very crinkly self looks. She's a bizarre looking woman I must say, wearing big round glasses that look as thick as Coke bottles that have been sawn off and secured in equally heavy looking black shiny frames, with a bright yellow dress with pink and green flowers, and lots of old, whacky looking beaded and gold jewellery, and red Doctor Marten boots despite the stifling September heat, with white frizzy hair puffed out like an unruly halo around her head, and a red and green plaid scarf tied in it. And so I move off the bed and sit on the large chest at the end, wrapping one of my arms around the large post at the corner and looking on as Beth continues to rattle away to Pam. Or blondie number two as she calls her.

'So you drained him at what time? When Debbie called me?' she asks Pam, pulling a tiny flashlight out of her bag and switching it on. Even though it's nothing notable, I do observe how strange it is to hear Deborah being referred to as anything other than that.

'It would have been at about nine fifteen when I returned back here with him, and then I got a feeds worth of your granddaughters blood into him. In your experience with this Beth I must ask, is that enough? I've never had to do this before, and I haven't been informed much about the aftercare of a reaper blood poisoned vampire. Just how to immediately treat them' Pam replies, coming to me and putting her arms around me, giving me some support as we both look on at the scene in front of us, Deborah excusing herself to get back to the busy bar upstairs. We then watch Beth take the small flashlight and lift each of his eyelids in turn, shine the light at his eyes and switch it back off again while he makes a small, faint noise of displeasure.

'Well he's not dead yet, his eyes haven't gone white. That's what you need to check for if he goes totally quiet for a while, because that is the only way you will be able to detect he has met his true death. But just then he mustered enough strength to try and growl at me for shining a light in his eyes, so there's a little bit of hope at least. And no, to sustain a vampire of his size it will not be enough. You must bring him another human, or blondie number one you could offer yourself since you haven't been much use so far' she replies crisply, while I get the distinct impressing my hesitation in answering her question a few moments ago, my not knowing of the precise time the event in question happened has made her perhaps dislike me a little.

'She can't Beth, for very complicated reasons' Pam tells her, while stroking my arm.

'Hmph, shame that. If your blood is as strong as your energies it'd be just the thing to help heal him' she replies with a small frown.

'You can feel my energy? I thought it was something only noticeable to vampires' I reply, watching her eye me sharply.

'A natural witch of my age and experience can feel and tell a hell of a lot more things than she lets on. Even if I do admit I do not know what you are, I know you are not entirely human. And whatever your kind is, it asks way too many irrelevant questions, so please hush your foolish noise' she replies sternly, while I just feel like bursting into tears. I'm really in no emotional state to handle someone being mean to me just for the sake of it, even if that meanness is only mild.

'Beth, respectfully I will ask you to watch your tone. This isn't just one of my closest friends you're addressing like she's worthless, she's Eric's lady. And if he can hear you talking to her like this right now, he will remember it' Pam warns her sternly, her arms tightening around me a little more and her words making me feel a nice warmth inside, hearing her refer to me as 'one of her closest friends'. It's at that point that the elderly lady listens, and then just nods in reply, like she's suddenly remembered just how powerful the vampire she's treating really is.

'I apologise for my slightly abrupt tone, and now I can allow you your dithering behaviour since I now know this is your vampire lying here dying. You must be very worried for him' she says, her words a lot more soft and gentle than they were before.

'Yes, I am' I reply, too drained to even bother being anything else but polite to her, taking her apology and leaving anything else right there. Now is not the time to get all upset because someone spoke to me in a tone I didn't deserve. Now is the time to let the old lady in front of us do her work, and so after reluctantly moving to the couches over at the other side of the apartment we leave her to do just that, hearing her chanting incantations for certain spells as we sit, and I put my head in my hands for a few seconds before trailing my fingers through my hair to remove it from my face, and sighing heavily as I look back up into Pam's eyes.

'Not to be a bitch, but you look like you've aged ten years in one hour' she tells me with sympathetic warmth in her voice, putting her arm around me. I just lean my head against her shoulder for a few moments before answering.

'I feel like I have too' I reply. And I honestly do too. Eric, you give me far too much worry. But damn it you're worth every single ounce of it.

**Authors note - Thank you once again to my two most regular reviewers for your tireless praise ladies :) you are both amazing and I'm so happy you love this story just as much as I love writing it! And a big thank you to all my silent readers too :) xxx**


	33. Chapter 33

Tyra's POV.

'Sorry for how Beth is, she can be very much the cranky, condescending old witch. But she's truly amazing. Eric's trusted her for years too, but there's no way he'd let her talk to you like that if he was fully conscious, no way. And neither will I' Pam tells me after the lady in question is packing away her things a little time after she began her hokus pokus (sorry, I'm somewhat of a sceptic over magic really).

'Don't worry its okay. Hey, I've dealt with worse with him after all, and he's the one I have to live with' I reply with a small smile as I jerk my thumb back in Eric's direction, making her laugh softly through her nose.

'Ladies, I am finished here. I used a few energy cleansing incantations to help things but to be honest, if the damage is done, it's done. All anyone can do now is make sure he gets blood every three hours for the first twelve hours, and then once every six hours for the following twelve, and then if he makes it that long just once a day for a week. If he's going to, he should start to come out of it by then, but until then he'll hardly be conscious if at all, just in a daze and in a lot of pain. You say he feels your energy do you? Well, maybe that might help him. Just don't lie there next to him being as miserable as you look right now or that'll do him no good. Be positive and strong, it's as much as you can do now. But young girl, I have to be blunt. Doesn't look good' she replies with a shake of her head, looking back at Eric and sighing sadly before addressing Pam with 'let me know, one way or another' before she looks back at me, nods and gives me a little thin smile and then totters back over to the door slowly. By the time she's through it I'm back on the bed sitting cross legged next to him, both of my hands holding one of his.

'Well I think it looks as good as it can. When Fabien was poisoned he told me he didn't have another vampire drain him out again for over half an hour after. I got Eric drained in fifteen minutes, and he's older and stronger than Fabien too of course' Pam tells me, sitting down on the bed on the other side of Eric.

'Don't sugar the pill Pam, if you think he's going to die then just tell me' I reply, feeling dejected and then some.

'I'm not, I'm being optimistic and that isn't out of the realms of reasonable thought either. He's strong, very, very strong. I'm confident he can get through this, we just have to get the next two days out of the way to be perfectly sure though' she tells me, while I nod. She's being real with me at least, which is good. The thought of losing him of course plays heavily on my mind, but then I'm reminded of course through the words of my friend and his progeny he's an extremely strong vampire. I have that to cling to at least. 'Listen, I'm going to head upstairs and arrange for some of the human staff to come back in rotation so he can feed, I'll leave him in the capable hands of his lady' she then adds, while I suddenly have a brilliant thought.

'You don't have to do that' I begin, before getting up off the bed and going over to where I threw my bag onto the floor, pulling out my cell. 'My friend Dmitri is every inch the sneaky Russian, and he knows people in useful places like hospitals. Last year I got an infection in my eye and at the time because work was slow I couldn't afford the medication for it, so Dmitri's friend within the hospital got me a five finger discount. I can't imagine a few bags of blood are going to go amiss. Just how many feeds can we give him from one transfused bag?' I ask him, practicality taking over and temporarily overshadowing my sadness.

'Roughly three I should think, it's been a while since I had to rely on those for sustenance. Are you positive this is something you can do? Law abidance isn't particularly my thing when it comes to it, but I don't want to see you or your friend in any trouble' she replies, a small frown creasing her brow.

'Absolutely, consider it done in fact' I reply, totally confident in Dmitri and his contacts abilities. And so I scroll through the phone book on my cell and find his number, calling him right away and finding he's on a night shift digging up a road just east of central Shreveport, but luckily can take five minutes for the call. And so I explain to him quickly and not in any in depth detail that Eric is sick and needs blood in the form of something more easily administered and in ready supply, and that is where he comes in to the equation.

'Any particular type?' he asks me as I hear him lighting a cigarette.

'Pam, is any particular blood group better than another?' I quickly ask her.

'No, anything' she replies.

'Anything you can get' I then tell Dmitri.

'Hopefully Alexi is in work tonight, in which case I'll meet him at the hospital when I come off shift at 6am, then bring it right over to you. Are you at your place or his? Where's he live?' he asks me, the sound of his cigarette crackling down the line as he takes a deep drag on it. 'I'll call him now and call you straight back T, bye hon' he then says before hanging up. Five minutes later he calls me back to inform me the deal is done; he can provide four bags of transfusions easily enough and hide the evidence of the theft. But the problem is that Alexi finishes his shift two hours before Dmitri does, and apparently isn't prepared to ferry the illegal cargo across town to meet him at the works site. So that leaves either Pam or I to go and fetch it from him.

'I'll go. I'll be there and back quicker' she tells me when I voice the predicament to her.

'Okay, tell him she'll meet him down by the service entrance at 4am. He won't be able to miss her, she'll be the only sexy leather clad vampire hanging around' I then tell Dmitri on the phone, hearing him laugh a little.

'Sure, I'll call him back now and let him know' he replies.

'Thank you, thank you so much for doing this for me' I tell him sincerely, thrilled that he's been able to come through for me like this. I knew he would.

'No worries, just make sure you let your vampire know he owes me one when he's feeling better, okay?' he replies.

'Oh I will, don't you worry about that. Love to Anna and the baby, and to you too' I reply.

'Love back' he replies simply before I hang up and put my cell down on the nightstand.

'I haven't even met your friend yet but I like him already, as much as I can like a human that is. Well, until 4am you'll know where to find me. I need Deborah back behind the bar so I have to go and relieve her of the door duties. Like I said before, I know I'm leaving him in capable hands' she tells me, smiling and then leaving at speed.

'It's just you and me then handsome' I tell Eric, squeezing his hand tightly and hoping I'll get a flicker of response from him again, like I did when he momentarily stroked my cheek earlier. Nothing happens though, he just lies there completely motionless, making me feel uneasy inside and gently lift his eyelids to check his eyes. Both still steel blue as they should be.

'You're such a lucky vampire, you've got the two women who care about you most looking after you, and we won't let you die. You can't leave Pam, you're meant to have centuries with her to come. And you can't leave me, because we don't have centuries to spend together to make up for the lost time, no matter how short it might be. I've only just found you, there's no way I'm losing you' I tell him, my voice starting to quiver as I feel tears building up again, tears I cannot stop as I look down on him and just wish with all my heart he'd open his eyes and put his arms around me. But he can't, and he won't. I feel so vulnerable all of a sudden because of that too; and I've never felt like that before either. But one thing I do know is that right now I should probably go and take a shower and change into some fresh clothes, since I stink of dry sweat and I'm still in my running gear, but the thought of leaving him for even a second does not bode well with me right now.

Even if all I have to do is go upstairs and retrieve the case I had originally packed for Norway (but threw into my car before locking up the house and tearing over here earlier), but I just cannot bring myself to leave his side. Just in case anything happens to him while I'm gone. And so the only disturbance we have is Ginger coming down to offer her blood two hours later (as required every three hours), with me managing to trickily be able to do this by putting my finger in his mouth and feeling around the top gum line in search of one of his fangs, and then pushing my finger against it to push it out of it's concealed place within the gum, piercing Ginger's wrist and letting the blood drip out and down into his mouth, while she winces in pain, squeezing her arm to make the blood drip out more.

'I appreciate this so much Ginger, thank you' I tell her, watching her wincing.

'No problem Tyra' she replies quietly, not really looking like she knows what to say. That's good really, because right now holding a conversation isn't something I feel up to doing. And so after she leaves I just sit there and stare at him, not realizing as the minutes tick by they turn into hours, my mind so full of worry, so full of playing back every affectionate moment I ever had with him, every kind whisper we shared with each other in the still of the night when it was just us in each other's arms, every moment I had with him that made me smile that I just do not notice the time ticking away. And before I know it, Pam has returned with the blood, coming into the apartment at 4.36am exactly.

And between us we manage to get a third of one of the bag transfusions into him easily enough, the tube at the top giving us that something extra we need to be able to just pour it straight into the back of his throat, rubbing his neck until we can get the muscles to contract and make him swallow.

'Well the next question is where the hell do we store this so it's cold enough to stay fresh? That Alexi guy specifically said standard refrigerators will not do it, that we have to freeze it if at all possible' Pam says, while I screw the cap back onto the bag of blood.

'There's an appliance store not far from here I spotted one day on my way home, I'll go and buy a small freezer in a few hours when they're open, unless of course the chill cabinets in the bar can be turned down that cool? What about the huge ice box the three dollar beers get thrown in?' I ask, in reference to the fact that Fangtasia, like a lot of bars sell the cheaper beers at knock down prices to draw in more punters, and to store them all they're all just thrown into a huge ice box like the ones stores use to freeze ice creams and the like. All the expensive beers are stacked properly in the chill cabinets.

'I never thought of that, clever girl because yes, the ones we throw all the cheap imported beer in can be turned down until it freezes. The punters will just have to put up with warm beer, I'll go and have Deborah see to that at once' she tells me before leaving again. And so I check his eyes once more, and see they're fine, and then run as fast as my legs will carry me up the stairs and out into the club, fetching my case and hauling it back downstairs with me again, and immediately checking his eyes once more when I'm back, seeing he's still alive. Silly I know, but when that's the only way to check he's still with me, I don't care how silly it may be. And then, deciding I really can sit here and stink no longer I take the fastest shower known to man and then dress in my jeans and a simple tight fitting dark grey t shirt, and then go straight back to him, lying next to him and just talking to him idly, hoping he can hear me. But still, for the next four hours he doesn't make a single movement or sound, not even after I feed him again.

To make each feed easily defrosted without having to re freeze the blood (which like food I can imagine cannot be done once it's been thawed) we poured each one into a separate packet, sealed with a twist tie ready to defrost. And with the use of a large syringe I asked Ginger to go and fetch for me from the 24 hour pharmacy down town I can easily suck the blood up with that, and then push it to the back of his throat to squeeze the blood straight down his throat. This makes feeding him very easy, and ensures I'm doing a good job if keeping him alive since an eye check twelve hours after he drained the reaper he's still with me, just not moving or making any sound still. And until he's better again, he's my only priority and so now it's morning I go about calling my clients and explaining to them that I'll arrange to have their files sent back at my expense by registered courier (the only time I plan on leaving Eric's side is to envelope up their files and give them to a waiting FedEx man), but that I will not be free to work until further notice because of a family problem. It's not a lie; very distantly the vampire lying next to me is my family. And he's my number one too. Anything and everyone else can just wait, with no further explanation needed. Other than to one person of course, a close enough friend to confide everything that is going on in.

'Shit ice princess, that don't sound good. Stupid question, but is you okay?' Lafayette asks me after I've called him and told him everything, and asked him if he minds looking after Poontang for me still, since of course he was going to be since right now we should be on a plane on the way to Norway.

'Not really, but I have to hold it together, if I fall apart I'll be no use to anyone, and it's my job to take care of him since this happened to him because he was taking care of me. That thing, shit Lafayette, it makes my blood run cold to think of what could have happened to me, having my soul stolen by that reaper. And he took the brunt of it, knowing it could have killed him. It still could, he might not recover at all' I reply, swallowing back a lump in my throat as I hear him tut and sigh in sympathy.

'I have to confess, he's gone up in my estimations a whole fuckin' lot for doing that for you, saving you like that. Hold on baby cakes...ARLENE! BURGER AND FRIES AND A BAKED POTATO WITH SALAD FOR TABLE SEVEN! Right, okay I'm back with you now. So how long before you know he's gonna be alright? If he is alright that is' he replies, breaking off mid way to call out an order, obviously at work behind the grill in Merlotte's right now.

'About a week according to the witch Pam brought in to see to him' I reply, wishing I smoked right now. I could sure do with one, but in the absence of nicotine I just reach for the gin. Do not even dare chiding me for drinking at 10.30am either dear reader; it isn't your boyfriend lying here at death's door is it?

'Is there anything me or Jesus can do? Other than looking after Poon and keeping an eye on your place while you're gone? You need me to bring you any clothes or anything like that? Just say the word honey child, you know I'm here' he tells me with great kindness.

'I brought the case I was intending to take to Norway with me, so I have everything I need here, but thank you. And give my cat cuddles from her mom. If I do need anything I'll be sure to call you first though' I tell him.

'Make sure you do' he replies. And after the call has ended, I sit and sip my gin and yawn, feeling tired but knowing there's no way I'm letting myself fall asleep. I don't think I could even if I tried. And so I finish my drink and then slip my jeans off, getting into bed next to him and lying there with my head on his chest, draping his arm over me in the way he would place it there if he was awake, and just looking up at him as I stroke his face.

'Please, wake up soon. I miss you already' I whisper, kissing his chest and grabbing my cell again to set the alarm on my phone to go off when I'm next due to get some blood into him, and then just lie there and doze, not awake but not asleep. Too scared to sleep properly even for a nanosecond, in case in that nanosecond he dies. I lie there and feel one of those horrible tingling headaches creep from the back of my head right over my eye sockets, and then the pain begin to throb. All the worry I'm feeling right now feeling like it's building up specifically between my skull and my brain. So I just open my eyes and look at him, blinking heavily and slowly, wishing I hadn't started on the gin so I could take an Advil. And so I continue to lie there right next to him, and that's the way it remains for the rest of the day, and the rest of the night too. The only time I leave his side is to run up to the bar and help myself to a couple of cans of Red Bull to keep me alert, keep myself awake should he wake up.

'You look like shit; you haven't slept at all have you?' Pam asks me at just turned 5.30am on her way to bed, thirty two and a half hours after the event that caused Eric to become bed bound and barely alive.

'Nope' I reply, shaking my head.

'And him, has he stirred at all? Moved or made a noise?' she then asks, looking down at him with great concern.

'Nope' I reply again. 'Not even a flicker, but I keep checking his eyes every fifteen minutes and he's still alive, just comatose' I then add, watching her nod.

'Well, alive as a vampire can be. I must confess I'm not managing to rest much either, hence this' she says, moving her hair away from her right ear where I can see she's stuffed it with cotton, collecting the blood that's starting to drip out.

'Do you want a hit of Tyra straight up? After all the gin I've drank today it might just be enough to knock you out' I say, offering her my wrist. If a vampire imbibes the blood of a human who has been drinking or on any other substance, they will feel it too. And so I hope the six double gins I've knocked back on an empty stomach might be able to do something for at least one of us, since its usual calming effects aren't really working very well on me. I just feel slightly drunk and still very upset.

'Thank you for the offer, but it'd feel wrong. If he can't drink of you I shouldn't either, you are his after all. Anyway, I'm going to go and try for at least a few hours of shut eye, and with how exhausted you look I suggest you try to do the same. G'nite doll' she tells me, leaning over Eric to where I'm sitting and kissing my cheek tenderly, giving my hair an affectionate stroke before doing the same to Eric, and then leaving, her sigh echoing off the walls of the apartment as she leaves. That sound, it sounded just how I feel. Empty, scared, and not quite my usual self; because of the fact Eric is not his usual self either, and may never be again. But that, that I cannot think on, no more than I already am at least. And then, a little later just before 8am, I feel him move for the first time in over 24 hours, and hear a faint moan escape his mouth.

'Eric, don't try to move or talk. Just know I'm still here, I mean what I said. I'm not leaving your side' I tell him, leaning down and kissing his lips, just about feeling him press his back to mine slightly as his eyes flicker open again for just a second, before shutting as he frowns and groans again. He must be in agony, and there's nothing I can do to make it go away. So I just do what Beth told me to do, sit and think positively, running my hands all over his chest in hope that some way, somehow, my energy can do something to help him. Because when you can't do anything but sit and watch your man in pain, you feel more helpless than you ever, ever imagined you could feel.

**Authors note - The chapters are going to have to come a little slower now ladies, posting every other day until I have gotten a good few chapters ahead in my writing again (I like to be at least about ten chapter ahead of what I'm posting if you get what I mean?). And a huge thank you to all of you who keep reading and reviewing, I am so pleased you like it, keep it up! :) xxx**


	34. Chapter 34

Pam's POV.

'You know, that woman of yours is really, really something. Much to my chagrin she hasn't slept a wink in four days; not since you fell ill. She barely leaves your side you know, I mean hell even though she knows she has a duty as Myra's godmother I still had to practically shove her up the basement stairs to attend the christening this morning. The only time she leaves you is to go to the bathroom, or upstairs to fetch herself more of those ghastly smelling energy drinks. She just sits and stares at you, like she's patiently waiting for you to come back again. I've done virtually nothing for you, other than what I did at the beginning of all this. It's all been her; she's doing everything from feeding you to making sure you're comfortable. And you get to bang her too, you damn lucky son of a bitch' I tell Eric as I sit next to his lifeless form, just talking to him. Probably way more in depth than I'd do most of the time as well, but if it's something Beth stated could help then I'll do it. She's the wisest of her kind in the whole of Louisiana; and there aren't many witches' vampires will easily trust either. Beth is a huge exception. I just wish he'd hurry the fuck up and get better. I miss the angry old bastard. He stirs every now and again, opens his eyes and takes a few blinks, but then closes them and looks pained.

Pain, something that shouldn't affect us; unless it's a burn from silver or something else that weakens us, but dead blood, well that's a whole different level. All vampires have it instilled into them by their maker from the beginning that drinking blood from a body that no longer has a heartbeat is a dangerous practice; one that will lead to their true death. And Eric drank a corpse dry, so you can imagine what it did to him. Even though I did manage to drain him pretty quickly, his body had already absorbed a lot of it, which was what effectively poisoned him with a dose of pure death. When you turn, it's painful, and when Fabien explained to me how much worse than being made it is when you suffer dead blood poisoning to that extent (his being the same and draining a reaper), it actually did make a little shudder go through me. I can't even imagine how Eric must feel right now. Like he's dying all over again perhaps, but a few hundred times worse I imagine. After saying goodbye to him I head back upstairs, letting the little piece of meat I took to bed with me last night out into the darkness as I switch on the neon and open up the front door.

'I'll call you' she chirps at me.

'Don't bother' I reply flatly, before turning away from her to go and switch on the rest of the lights, hearing Deborah's car enter the lot like clockwork. Never late that gal, she always pulls up around the time I'm opening the front door. And then when I come back to the front door in another ten minutes I see the other sight I expected soon too; Tyra's red Alfa pulling into the lot. She gets out quickly and hurries over as fast as she can on the needlepoint thin high heeled shoes she's wearing (how she drives in them I just do not know), looking smart yet sexy in the clingy fitting, aubergine coloured strapless knee length dress she has on. Eric would very much approve of her attire right now.

'Good evening godmother du jour, how were the festivities?' I ask her before giving her an air kiss, not wanting to smear my cerise pink lip gloss across her cheek.

'Loud, that child never stops crying. Ever' Tyra replies lightly, but with a playful terse look on her face. 'I just want to get myself to the bar briefly, and then down to my Eric' she then adds as I nod.

'Have you eaten anything yet?' I ask her, noticing how flat she looks in her dress, evidence of a stomach not presently being fed. It's been four days.

'I had some chips and dip, that counts' she replies, while I roll my eyes.

'You'll faint, and then I'll have two of you stubborn Swedish fuckers to look after' I reply firmly, but still with humour.

'Don't bring my nationality into this' she says, like she means it very seriously but her face totally betraying her.

'EAT SOMETHING THEN' I shout at her, watching her lean back as if the force of my shouting is blowing her back.

'Sorry, not hungry. I just...despite appearances, I'm still too worried about him to eat. I can't even begin to find an appetite' she replies on a more serious note this time.

'Alright, but if you pass out just know I'll be pissed off at you' I add, while she gives me a little sarcastic salute I let slide. She knows I'm nagging her about it because I care, and for my own convenience I don't want to have to mother her right now as well as run the club and jointly worry over Eric with her too. And so off she goes inside to fetch herself and drink and then get back Mr comatose downstairs. I must say I admire her loyalty to him; I always have. And this is a time when he truly does deserve it too; I must confess that in the past I've been surprised at the things she's forgave him for. He did nearly kill her after all; I'm not so blinded by him as my maker that I cannot see when he is in the wrong. They got off on a very tempestuous foot, both being bad tempered and known to physically lash out at each other. Something that seems to have ceased now thankfully, I don't enjoy watching two people I care for slugging each other. It does put me in a hell of a position for one thing. But anyway, it doesn't take away from the fact that in the past week what they've done for each other just shows what they think of one another. They've become very selfless where the other is concerned, very considerate of each other. And I know another thing too; this is the first time Eric has found, or allowed himself to find contentment with a woman, and just one woman too. Yep, as I said to the man himself earlier, she's really something. Now all he has to do is hurry up and get better so he can continue to enjoy her.

Tyra's POV.

'Well, as predicted the time in the church was the loudest hour of my life. Between the baby crying and Dmitri's mother blubbering it was headache inducing and then some' I tell Eric as I kick my pumps off and feel the relief of coming back down to ground rather than teetering six inches above it. I look over and see his face was as expressionless as it was when I left this morning, which is good to see. When he's in pain I can tell, it's when he makes faint noises and there's a few frown lines faintly visible. Otherwise all he's done is open his eyes a little a few times, but he doesn't focus on anything and shuts them again soon after. I then reach behind to unfasten the zipper, sliding my dress off and returning it to its hangar and then back into the closet. Eric has a walk in wardrobe, it's amazing.

'And now for some of what I've been looking forward to all day, time with my old man' I then tell him as I climb into bed, sharing the pillow his head rests upon and stroking the side of his face before my hand comes to a rest on his shoulder, giving the hard muscle a few squeezes. I have to admit; even though I'm still worried about him I do feel more optimistic as the days pass. It means it's a lot more likely he's not about to meet his true death at least. I just hate having to play the waiting game for him to actually wake up from this, and knowing how much pain he's in with it doesn't sit well with me either. I know he _can_ handle it, but I don't want him to _have_ to. But I will wait, and wait, and wait...and before I know it, a week has passed by. And he still hasn't woken up, something that concerns both Pam and me greatly. This leads to us calling for help in the shape of the strange looking little witch who came to our aid a week ago.

'His eyes are normal, and you said he'd stirred a few times too, he's still taking blood, I just do not know why he isn't awake yet. A vampire of his strength should really have woken up by now. This concerns me, perhaps the poisoning was much more severe than any of us first thought' Beth says, in a tone completely changed from her crisp, all knowing and efficient manner she displayed last week. Today, I can hear the uncertainty in her voice loud and clear.

'So what can we do?' Pam asks her, while I feel the weight of the situation landing even more heavily upon me. I feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders right now.

'There's nothing anyone can do for him other than to wait and see. He'll either wake up in his own time, or die. It's that simple, that cut and dry I'm afraid' she replies. 'I'm sorry to be so useless, I really hope you didn't pin any expectations on me being able to improve his condition dear' she then says, addressing me solely.

'I did hope you might have had an idea as to why he hasn't woken. But it's not your fault you didn't, so there's no need to apologise' I reply flatly, dejected with the situation and not her, smiling a little as I look away from Eric and back at her.

'He has the most important thing he needs right next to him, the love of a good woman' she then tells me kindly.

'I care about him, but I don't love him Beth' I reply, watching her make a face.

'Don't you?' she questions, fixing a beady, highly magnified eye behind her thick glasses at me.

'No' I reply firmly, but not aggressively. And my firmness is all she needs to drop the subject, holding up a defensive hand and making a face that says 'I shall say no more on the matter', before standing and leaving, once again asking us to let her know when (if) he wakes up. And so I go back to much of the same, not working, not eating, and not sleeping. Just worrying myself into a state over him, finding that I become the victim of tearful outbursts that are very out of character for me a hell of a lot too. I just sit and watch him, motionless apart from an agonised groan here and there, and then I cry in despair over the fact I cannot do anything else other than what I'm doing for him. I feel so helpless. And then I get angry and I shout at him for not waking up, the day after Beth saw him I even whacked him one, a closed fit straight to the chest as I screamed 'WHY WON'T YOU JUST WAKE UP ERIC' and then cried and cried with my head on his chest, apologising profusely for punching him, telling him I knew it wasn't his fault that he wouldn't or couldn't awake, hating myself for letting my frustrations out on him. And the days just continue to pass, eight days, nine days, ten days...up until now, eleven days after he first fell ill.

'Tyra, I'm beginning to think I need to do the unthinkable and call an actual MD in, but not for him. For you, because right now you look worse than he does' Pam tells me one evening, actually managing to coax me away from Eric's side and sitting with me on one of the two large couches he owns.

'I know, but I just can't let myself fall asleep. I have actually listened to you and tried, but I can't drop off. If I do it's only for a few minutes and then boom, like a clap of thunder I'm awake again. And as for eating, I tried to nibble on a cracker and ended up throwing up what I'd chewed off, so I cannot force an appetite I don't have either. I won't be alright until I know he is' I explain to her, watching her nod and look on at me with concern. More concern than I ever thought she could muster. But I'm beginning to learn something about vampires, when they do show care they show it very, very deeply.

'I appreciate the fact you've tried, that you have listened to me and not been so stubborn as usual. But you cannot go on like this. I have to open up now, but I'll be back a little later' she tells me, while I wonder why she's opening up half an hour earlier than planned...

Pam's POV.

'You know I wouldn't call unless I needed a favour. I know what you think of me and Eric Lafayette' I tell our former V dealer as soon as I've gotten into the office to call him out of Tyra's earshot.

'And what might that be? Oh, and I haven't heard from Tyra in a couple of days, she okay?' he asks me.

'No she isn't which is why I'm calling you. Look, she's in a bad way and I know you care about her, so I need your help. She can't sleep, the stress of the situation with Eric at present is too much for her, and she's not coping well at all mainly because she's so exhausted. She's probably had about an hour of sleep in the last eleven days. So I need to drug her, knock her out for a few hours. I know if I mention she should take a sleeping pill she'll refuse, as well as not being able to sleep she doesn't really want to. She's too scared something will happen to him if she goes to sleep, so I need to either come to you to fetch her something you no doubt have to spike a drink with or you need to come to me. Either way, I fear she's not far from being admitted to hospital at present. She really is in a hell of a state' I tell him. And I'm honestly not dramatizing things here; that is something us vampires never do. She honestly does look in worse shape than Eric right now.

'There's no way in hell I'm ever stepping foot in that fucking nightclub you run ever again, not after last time I was there' he begins, of course in reference to the fact that the basement was once his abode for two weeks, since we chained him up down there. Long story, one you probably know already though. 'So you'll have to come to me, meet me round the back of Merlotte's at nine. I start my shift in twenty minutes, unless you can get to my place in that time?' he then adds.

'See you in less than twenty then' I reply before snapping my cell shut, applying a little more lipstick and brushing my hair before I leave the club at speed. I know what I'm doing is devious, but she's my friend and she's falling apart right now. And I also know that if the situation was reversed she'd do the exact same thing for me too; if pharmaceuticals actually worked on vampires that is. Besides, there's a selfish reason behind it too. If Eric wakes up any time soon and sees the state of her the first thing he's going to do is drop the blame right at my door. 'Why did you not look after Tyra?' is what he's likely to question. I think he forgets sometimes how stubborn that woman can be. And so this is why I'm going to do the only thing I can, and try to trick her into drinking something laced with whatever Lafayette has procured from his little illegal stash for me.

'Oxazepam, more commonly known as Serax, one will make her drowsy, two will knock her the fuck out for about ten hours. Here' Lafayette tells me as he hands me a small plastic bag with a zipper closure at the top, a 'drug baggie' as they're known on the street.

'Thank you. Do they have any traceable taste? I plan to give her this without her knowing after all' I reply, taking the bag from him and tucking it safely into my Chanel purse.

'No, but they dissolve faster in hot water so you might wanna grind them up and put them in a decaf or something. And after she's slept, tell her to call me' he replies, backing away into his house again.

'I will, I'll lie and say you called her while she was out of it and I took the message. And thanks again for those by the way' I reply before I turn and hightail it out of there, stopping at hell of earth (Starbucks, oh fuck I hate it! I hate any place that's littered with pesky humans) before I go home to fetch a large decaf coffee before breezing back to Fangtasia, opening up and then leaving Deborah in charge while I go about my task of grinding up the pills with my fingers, crumbling them into a fine powder and sprinkling them into the coffee before using a brand new pencil I find in a packet on the desk to stir it up well, and then head downstairs.

'Here, I'm starting to worry you'll have rotten teeth if you keep drinking Red Bull at the rate you are, so here have a less cavity inducing beverage' I tell Tyra, passing her the Serax laced coffee.

'Thanks Pam. Mmmm takeout coffee, how I've missed thee' she replies, taking the cup and blowing me a little air kiss before to my delight blowing it and beginning to gulp it back. I know she takes her coffee with quarter of cold milk so she can drink it right away; this is why she is able to gulp it without burning her mouth. Having no idea how long the medication she's blissfully unaware she's imbibing takes to work, I decide to wait around to make sure they do work and also be on hand if they decide to start working when say, she's taking a shower. That wouldn't be so great a result really; and since she's already had one incident of falling over in there (much to Eric's amusement as I remember when he told me she walked right into the door) I will not leave her alone for it to possibly occur for a second time. And so I just sit and talk to her casually, as I do every evening for a while before we become busy upstairs, and she doesn't suspect a thing. And after about thirty five minutes, the powerful tranquilizers begin to take effect, as I notice her eyes becoming heavier with each blink, and her head nod every so often as she rigorously tries to stay awake. Another five minutes and she's slumped.

'Okay sleeping beauty, time to get these clothes off you and get you into this bed properly now the magic pills have worked' I tell her as I pull her top over her head (which is strapless thankfully, they're always the easier to remove) and then take off her jeans, leaving her in just her underwear as I pull the covers out from under her and then lay them back down. And then her eyes suddenly spring open again, and even through her druggy haze she fixes me with a glare. Turns out perhaps I should have waited a while to make sure she really was asleep before I voiced anything about the Serax.

'You...youuu...fuuuucking...druuuuuged...me' she slurs before that's it; she's out like a light.

'Yes I did. And finally, you're asleep. Now, I just need you to do the reverse and wake up' I say, addressing an asleep Tyra first, and then Eric. And with that, my work here is done.

Tyra's POV.

'You...youuu...fuuuucking...druuuuuged...me' I manage to say to Pam slowly, noting how devious it was of her to spike me with something before my head hits the pillow, and I'm just too floored by whatever it is that she's put in my coffee to even move, and I lie there feeling very heavy for a few moments before sleep overcomes me and an alarming rate, my eyes closing for the last time after I've tried to keep them open, and then...nothing. I fall into deep unconsciousness, which to be honest is something that I really do need. It's a shame it isn't nice, dreamless sleep though. The first thing I dream of is my mother (adoptive) following me around at her house, telling me I need to rest, that I should eat more, and that she cannot see the attraction of me being with a vampire in the first place (not that I've actually told her in waking time yet), and that she doesn't understand why I cannot rest. And then all of a sudden she starts going on about Godric, while I just walk through the house from room to room trying to get away from her nagging. And then I turn around to see she's turned into our old family pet, a cat named Springstein (my dad is a huge fan).

'Hey Springy, you're a much more welcome presence in dream land than my mother's nagging' I tell him, watching him just sit down and begin washing his paws. And then I hear something, and then am suddenly knocked sideways by an invisible force, something that manages to jolt me awake for a few moments. I open my eyes but still feel heavy and medicated strongly, so close them immediately and feel myself drifting off to sleep again and back into another dream. And I know I'm dreaming because I can hear Eric as clear as a bell.

'Tyra, hello my beautiful lady, wake up. If only for a second, I know how tired you must be, but now I'm awake I just want to say hello to you before you fall asleep again' his dream form tells me.

'But I am asleep again, this is a dream' I tell him, closing my eyes and seeing blackness, and then feeling his hand at my cheek.

'No it isn't' he replies, before leaning in and kissing my head, his arm wrapping around me, the sudden press of his cold body to mine shocking me awake... or awake properly I should say. Since he's right, this isn't a dream. He really has just woken up, given me a kiss and put his arms around me at last.

**Authors note - As always, THANK YOU for the reads and reviews! You are ALL WONDERFUL! Keep them coming, I really enjoy hearing what you guys think! xxx**


	35. Chapter 35

**WARNING! Chapter contains sexy stuff lol!**

Eric's POV.

'Eric!' Tyra exclaims loudly once she's come round a little better, throwing her arms around me and then quite surprisingly, bursting into floods of tears as she hangs onto me tightly. This is something I cannot and will not blame or frown upon her for either; I've been able to hear what's been going on for the last week and a half, but I've just been too weak to move, let alone communicate. And I know that she's been here right next to me throughout the duration, putting everything else in her own life on hold just so she could care for me. No one has ever acted that selflessly towards me before, not since I've been a vampire at least. No one has ever cared about me to the extent she's shown over the last eleven days. I know she hasn't eaten, has barely slept, and that is why she's in such an emotional state right now. As well as a physical one, she looks very pale and tired, and I can tell just from having my arms around her that she's lost a little bit of weight too.

'Shhhh, don't cry now. I'm fine, I'm okay, and now it's my turn to take care of you. Go back to sleep, you need your rest precious' I tell her, stroking her hair and soothing her as she stops crying, drying her eyes and looking up at me finally, smiling widely at last before kissing my lips.

'But I can't...not...not now...you're awake finally' she tells me in a slurred mumble. I overheard Pam mention something about pills, so I'd say right now whatever she's given Tyra to make her sleep is strong, but true to her nature she's fighting it.

'Stop battling against it and just go to sleep and I'll be right here when you wake again' I tell her, kissing her lips, and her cheek a couple of times, trying to get her to settle again. And after a few moments of looking thoroughly unhappy about it, off she drifts and I continue to lie next to her until I know she's fallen into a deep enough sleep to allow me to move without disturbing her, which is when I finally sit up, and then get out of bed and stand for the first time in eleven days. After my ordeal I feel almost completely back to myself again, except right now I'm so hungry I could drain an army dry but that's understandable enough. And so the first thing I do is head into the bathroom to take a long, blisteringly hot shower before drying and dressing into some comfortable clothes, black sweats and a plain grey t shirt, sliding my feet into a pair of flip flops and heading upstairs to see the other woman in my life. Before I even get to her though I know she's felt me there, felt that I'm awake. And so I just stand about ten feet away from her and wait until she turns around, watching her face trying to remain composed, battling with her dignity before it seems she decides she doesn't care about composure for appearances sake, and walks over to throw her arms around me.

'I'm so relieved' she tells me, before returning to a more formal demeanour as we walk back to the front of the club again so she can resume her place at the door.

'So am I, trust me that was an experience I do not wish to repeat any time soon' I reply. I still don't feel one hundred percent, but I feel better than I have been.

'Was it as horrific as Fabien described it?' she asks me quietly.

'Worse. But I have you to thank for acting quickly, or it could have been even worse than it actually was. I take it you drained me, correct?' I ask her, figuring as much but wanting to give her a chance to be proud of her actions, like any maker would with his or her 'child'.

'Yes I did, but that was literally all I did. Tyra took over as soon as I'd managed to get a little of Deborah's blood back into you, and then I had Beth come and see you too. But like I say, those two things are all I did, she was the one who got you a supply of blood, and organised the girls' to come down in rotation to feed you until I had chance to go and collect it, and then when you still hadn't woken up after a week she did the same once more with the help of that Dmitri guy she's friends with. It's all been her Eric' she tells me, while I nod, knowing as much.

'Yes I did hear the old hag when she was here, and I will be pulling her up over how she spoke to my lady too. But I also must thank her for the good she did for me' I reply, watching Pam nod in a way that tells me she expected me to say what I just did.

'And speaking of your lady, does she know you're awake yet? She's virtually had no sleep at all since you fell ill, so I had to drug her. Something you're probably aware of already if you've been able to hear what's been going on around you' she replies, stopping a young girl at the door and staring at her before firmly shaking her head 'no'. Fangtasia has a certain dress code, and the casual, scruffy outfit she had on did not meet our criteria to be allowed admission.

'She does, but I managed to get her to go back to sleep. Whatever you gave her was strong enough to win when she tried to fight it. And yes, I could hear everything going on around me but I was just too weak to respond. Anyway, I trust you've handled everything well while I've been temporarily disposed shall we say? Is there anything requiring my immediate attention?' I ask her.

'Not a thing, everything is as it should be' she tells me.

'Good, because all my time is going to be taken up caring for Tyra and finding out just who sent that reaper after her in the first place, and why. Right now I'm drawn to the theory Russell Edgington has his werewolves and other vampire associates working for him and doing his bidding since he's incarcerated at present. I am not naive enough to believe he won't try and ruin me from his casket confines' I reply bitterly, a swell of anger rising up in my chest as I think of what could have happened if I hadn't have been at Tyra's house at the time, if she'd have been alone. It's that anger alone that will be the drive I need to find out more, the agony I went through as well just adds to it. And so I bid Pam goodbye for now and head straight to the office after alerting Deborah's attention, feeding from her, and then going back to the woman I want to be with most, wondering how I can begin to show the gratitude I feel towards her for how she's looked after me for the last week and a half, not even putting herself first once either. One thing I could do for her would be to perhaps sit at her laptop and do the bookwork I know she's put on hold for the last eleven days, that is something I would be prepared to do for her so she isn't so bogged down with it all once she does begin working again. But with no invoices she fetches from her clients herself to work on then there isn't much I can do about that. But the one thing I can do is make sure she's well looked after once she's woken up again, which leaves me with exactly eleven hours of night time to call on a couple of associates of mine and try to attain who exactly was behind sending that reaper to alleviate my girlfriend of her soul. Girlfriend, not a term I use a lot or plan on using either; but none the less it does feel nice of sorts to refer to her as that, as mine. My lady, that's what she is.

'Don't you dare tell me to go back to sleep again' she announces after I hear her stir and move to be by her side at speed, sitting on the edge of the bed and welcoming her into my arms once she's rubbed her eyes, yawned a few times and woken up a little.

'I wouldn't dream of it. Even though you've been right here next to me, I've missed you, missed spending time with you. Well, time when I can actually speak' I tell her honestly. Because I have, it killed me not being able to even utter one word of reassurance to her, to calm her worries, to tell her that all I needed was a bit more time and I'd be okay. It will take a hell of a lot more than a soul reaper to take me away from her.

'I missed you too' she tells me, kissing my cheek and stroking my other one with her hand, smiling fondly at me.

'And now I'm fully recovered and back to my old self it's time I turned my attentions to making sure you do the same. I'll run you a bath and then organise for some food to be brought in for you. Is there anything in particular you'd like?' I ask her attentively.

'You'd be willing for me to actually eat in here? Are you sure?' she asks me.

'I shall not like it, the noxious smell of food. But I understand it is something you've gone without for quite a time, so I must be lenient and understanding towards that fact' I reply.

'Well my stomach isn't likely to let me eat much without making me feel sick since it's been starved of food for so many days, a sandwich would do it. Ginger's been out to fetch me something to eat before when I've had to work over here, so she'll remember what I like and don't like if you want to send her?' she asks me, while I nod in reply. I had planned on sending the pretty little idiot I employ to serve drinks and dance on a podium out to fetch something, so knowing she'll at least have a vague idea of what Tyra likes (I would not have a clue, besides I don't want to go anywhere without her either right now). And with that I do as I stated I would and go to run her a bath, finding the box of deep blue coloured bath salts she leaves here and adding about half the contents before flying upstairs, pressing a wad of cash into Ginger's hand and instructing her what to do, and then quick as a flash I'm back by Tyra's side again. Well, I'm actually behind her with my arms around her, kissing the side of her neck where she stands at the sink in the bathroom, brushing her teeth.

'So I have to ask, what was it like when you were out of it? When you did make any signs of life you looked like you were in terrible pain' she asks me after rinsing her mouth and putting her toothbrush back next to mine. Yes, most vampires do clean their teeth, or we'd smell like a butcher shop if we didn't due to our diet being blood of course.

'I was. It was totally indescribable, there's nothing I could liken it to in order for you to understand how severe it was' I reply, watching her nod.

'Pam told me that she'd heard from Fabien that is was like the pain you go through when you turn from human to vampire, only a hundred times worse' she tells me, removing her underwear and walking over to the bath to get in, turning off the tap once she's sat in the water while I perch on the side of the tub.

'Try a thousand. Dead blood is just that, deadly. But it was something I had to do, I survived it, and I'm fine. I cannot say as much for whoever sent it, whoever controlled it. For when I find out who the perpetrator was, they're dead. They will not get away with endangering you like that' I tell her, feeling my rage begin to rise again, but then calming when she reaches out and begins stroking my arm.

'I can't even begin to tell you how thankful to you I am. Even though the first time the event had malicious undertones, that's twice you've saved my life now' she tells me, actually hoisting herself up out of the water for a moment to kiss me, before sliding back down again and resting her feet up on the taps.

'And I'd do it again, you know how much I'd sacrifice to keep you safe, even myself' I tell her, smiling at her fondly.

'I do, and I'd make the same sacrifices for you too' she tells me, taking my hand and kissing it, and then prompting me to not want any further distance between us any longer, even if it is just two feet. And so regardless of the fact I've just showered I strip off and join her in the bath, sitting between her legs and lying back with my head rested on her chest, turning to the side to kiss the side of one of her breasts, before my feet take the space hers previously were on top of the tap.

'I know you would, which leaves me to draw the conclusion that you're the most wonderful woman I've met since Ida. I've never experienced the level of loyalty and care you've shown me, not since her. You're remarkable Tyra' I tell her, turning to look up at her and watching her beaming down at me, stroking my hair as she does.

'Thank you, you're not so bad yourself you know' she tells me with a hint of happy laughter to her voice, like she barely believes she's hearing me say such pleasant words to her. Well she needs to believe them, every last word. Because this last week really has hammered it into my skull, just how much I care for this woman and in turn how much she cares for me. It's made me see things very, very differently...

Tyra's POV.

Have you ever been in a situation where at the time you've freeze framed the event in your mind, and reminded yourself to come back to it at a later date, just to be reminded of how happy you were at the time? I just did that a few seconds ago, burning the image of Eric lying in my arms (for once) in the bathtub into my head and the happiness I feel because of it. When I realized I really was awake earlier and the Eric talking to me was really him, also awake, I did cry with happiness, and relief too. It proved to me that even though my breakdown was partially brought on by sheer exhaustion, I care about Eric a hell of a lot more than I ever thought I did. I realized that I've become used to him being in my life, and that's where I want him to stay.

'How are you feeling right at this moment?' I ask him, wondering how his first night of being awake after eleven days is going.

'I'm very content' he tells me, taking my hand and kissing my fingers, watching as I move my leg, brushing it against his.

'I mean after what you went through. Are you completely over it?' I reply.

'I'm very content' he replies again, turning to look at me. 'I don't want to discuss it, it was extremely unpleasant. I'd rather forget about it and just enjoy being with you' he tells me, moving to kiss me and wrap me in his arms, kneeling between my legs before gently lowering himself down on top of me, taking his weight on his knees so as not to crush me with his sheer size, but pressing his body against mine firmly as his hands run down my cheeks, my neck, and then my back under the water. And in turn I run my hands up and down his chest, his skin hot and wet from the water, a nice change and contrast from its usual coolness, feeling a little ball of arousal begin to throb and swell within me just from kissing him. And it would seem the same can be said of just kissing me too, for when I allow my hands to wander south of his waist, there's a lovely big erection there waiting for me to play with it.

'Please, don't expect me to be able to last for hours. Right now I still feel a little weak so I'm not able to perform to the standard you're used to' he tells me, kissing me from neck to cheek.

'I don't care, I just want you, no matter how long for' I tell him, taking his face in my hands and kissing him hungrily, hoping it can convey just how much I need him right now, and do not care whatsoever if it isn't the standard I'm used to. And so my hand slides back down his body to wrap around his cock again, using my thumb to gently rub a circle around the sensitive head, hearing him groan deeply and nip the side of my neck in appreciation, one of his hands leaving where it rests at the bottom of my back, his fingertips making contact with my labia before slipping between them and down to my opening, one and then two fingers sliding inside my pussy while his thumb presses to my clit and he begins stimulating me firmly yet slowly, kissing me again and muting the bliss filled little gasps that escape my lips. Already I'm craving to feel the big hard cock in my hand cutting through the wetness being created by his fingers, filling and satisfying me in a way no other ever has, could, or will. After a few minutes he senses my need, and I feel him move his hand from between my legs and let me guide the head of his cock to my opening, letting go and wrapping both arms around his neck and kissing his throat as I feel him slide in fully. And at that point it's more of a feeling of relief that's conjured within me than all out lust, relief that he's okay again, relief that he's inside me again and I'm not sitting there next to him in bed checking his eyes every fifteen minutes to make sure he's still alive (well, existing since he's dead already). But in that thought, my mind is taken away to once more marvel at how a creature that is dead can make me feel so alive when I'm having sex with him. Its irony at its most glorious, and it's most gorgeous. Because the vampire inside of me right now, holding me close to him, kissing me, staring at me as he thrusts into me slowly and precisely, is the most gorgeous thing I've ever laid my eyes on.

'You're beautiful, so beautiful' he tells me in a tone so hushed it can't even be classed as a whisper; more like just a movement of air, a whistle of breeze that's followed by a deep growl as I feel him thrust into me more deeply, his mouth kissing my cheek and then my neck. I then open myself up to him even wider by lifting each leg and resting my feet on the sides of the bath, allowing his cock to sink into me even deeper. And such allowance causes great pleasure for us both, the pace becoming faster and more voracious by the moment, all of my limbs suddenly locking around him as I feel the judders of orgasm start to jolt through me. And that's not the last I have either, the following half an hour of very hot and very wet sex in the bath giving me three more, my last one triggering his own. For a few moments I'm totally lost in it, the pleasure so great I'm gone from this world and on a planet somewhere else far away, my hearing fuzzy, my eyes misty when I eventually open them again, and pleasure still flooding strongly through my body. I blink a few times and my vision clears to see Eric, his face so close to mine our noses touch, his body gently shuddering against mine as he kisses me again, and I moan softly into his mouth.

Afterwards we lie there curled around each other for another ten minutes before the chill of the water drives me out and into the warm embrace of towels that I wrap around myself and in my hair before going back out. En route to the kitchen, I pick up a large brown paper bag that Ginger must have brought down here full of food and stand at the counter to eat and read my current book (The Samurai, the one I couldn't afford but is definitely worth every penny). And when I open it, I see just how kind the sweet yet dumb as a rock dancer upstairs really is. He could have just gone to the late night diner across the street to purchase my food, but no. She went to the all night deli down on West Arcade Avenue which is at least a ten minute drive, and got me two of my favourite sandwiches, cheese salad and coleslaw on French bread, and then the presence of a large bottle of cherry Coke, a bottle of Evian a huge bag of Ruffles Lite, a bag of bananas, a package of Oreo's and a bag of dried apricots points to the fact she's been to a grocery store too. It also shows for all she's been glamoured she still has quite an impressive memory, remembering the things I like to eat. And as I'm standing chewing my first mouth full of sandwich Eric re enters the room, going over to the couch dressed in just a pair of black sweat pants, and picking up my laptop computer to switch it on. I've finished the sandwich and moved on to the Ruffles by the time I look up again and see what he's scrolling through.

'And how are the markets this morning?' I ask him, able to see the FTSE 100 index on the screen. The morning trading on the stock market has just opened in London, hence Eric's interest.

'Bad...oh but good in oil, definitely up there by a few zeros' he comments casually, turning to look at me and smile before his eyes avert back to the screen. I have no idea how many zeros he's referring to, since I don't ask about his finances (the only ones I have anything to do with are those of the bar), but I do know he likes to play the stock market 'for fun' as he puts it, and I do know he's extremely wealthy. But I know little about it simply because I do not care. I'm one of very few women, if not the only one for many hundreds of years, who's never been interested in Eric's wealth; both he and Pam have told me that.

'Do you feel better for having something to eat? And I assume Ginger managed to fetch what you like?' he then asks me.

'She did, and yes I'm starting to' I reply before I pop another Ruffle into my mouth and crunch it to bits.

'Good, because I have something I need to discuss with you' he replies, while I look away from my book again.

'Sounds ominous' I state, raising an eyebrow.

'Nothing to worry about, just a solution to a possible problem' he replies, smiling again before looking back at the screen. He's started doing that a lot more, smiling at me. It's not creepy any longer either, or rather it doesn't freak me out any longer. I know he does it because he's happy now. But I do have to note, he does seem a lot happier than he has of late (well, before he was out cold for nearly two weeks), especially considering how angry I know he is over the whole soul reaper debacle. And so after finishing my mouthful of chips I wash them down with a few swigs of water, and then take my book and my bag of dried apricots over to the couch and sit down at the opposite end to Eric, putting the marker back in my book and resting it on the floor, the same place he puts my laptop after shutting it down and closing it up.

'So, this solution to a possible problem then' I ask him.

'Yes, indeed. It would appear you have become a target, or rather I have and of course the fastest way to get to me is to get to my woman. Either way right now you are not as safe as I would like you to be, but that can be overcome. I need to tell the more trusted vampires in my area, ones with actual positions within said area what you are. The werewolves under my trust too, they should also be informed they now have a queen to protect. But of course I wanted to ask you first' he tells me with much respect, and also something else I pick up on; the tiniest slither of trepidation. I can feel he really doesn't want to reveal what I am to anyone, but for the greater good that is my safety he has to. This, if nothing else, shall definitely require a lot of thought.

**Authors note - As always, THANK YOU for the reads and reviews! You are ALL WONDERFUL! Keep them coming, I really enjoy hearing what you guys think! xxx**


	36. Chapter 36

Tyra's POV.

'So, these trusted vampires, do I know any of them?'I ask Eric while biting into one of the dried apricots I've taken from the bag on my lap, surprised when I taste that it's been spiced with cinnamon. It makes for a very nice flavour.

'There's one you know, Rob, one you've at least met, Fabien. The rest will be unknown to you though, they do not frequent Fangtasia in their leisure time' he replies slowly, eyeing the fruit I'm eating yet not making a sour face, looking like he's trying to work out if he can put up with the smell or not. Turns out he can when he moves closer to me, pulling my legs over his lap and stroking my thighs under the large towel that's still wrapped around me, and then leans in and gives me a slow, lingering kiss.

'Sorry, what was I saying? I get ever so distracted by you when you aren't wearing much' he then adds, making me laugh a little.

'And who are the rest?' I ask him with honest interest, after obliging him another kiss.

'They need no introduction other than the one you shall receive face to face with them. I'm calling a meeting with all of them, the werewolves too two nights from now. Until then, I'd appreciate if you didn't travel anywhere without either Pam or I with you. For someone to have sent the reaper out after you in the woods clearly points to the fact that you were being watched and you still may be too. I quite understand you have a life to lead, but I would rather you had more vampires aware of the situation and keeping an eye on you in night hours other than myself and Pam, and daylight hours are where your werewolves come in. If someone from Edgington's camp is watching you, I want someone from mine watching you too. At least when I'm not there to do it, and in the day time werewolf protection will be all you need, they're savage and strong enough to head off most things not vampiric, and at night, you will have me first and foremost and five others all aware and watching out for you too. It isn't ideal I realize this, but I have to do what I have to do in order to keep you safe. I hope you understand that' he tells me, while I nod immediately.

'Believe me; even I'm not so proud that I can't see I'm at danger, especially after what was sent to get me a week and a half ago. I completely understand your reasoning, and as long as you can promise me revealing what I am to these vampires and werewolves can be trusted to be kept quiet, and that they are all completely trustworthy in knowing, then I agree totally' I reply, Eric laughing a little, and quite darkly in reply at first.

'They are all aware of my wrath, and just how sizeable it is if I'm ever crossed. None of them would dare' he tells me quietly, but with steely assurance. You'd have to be very brave, or very stupid to cross a vampire as powerful and ferocious when he's angry as mine is.

'Then I agree' I tell him, being met with an efficient nod that closes the subject for now. After I've finished eating, cleaned my teeth and braided back my damp hair and hung up the towels in the bathroom we dress and head up to the club for a couple of hours, indulging in conversation about the events to come with one of the vampires who will be there, Rob the clubs DJ.

'My maker told me something about your kind once, that you'd be extinct for a very long time though' he says, after thinking over his words for a few moments. With Rob, there's a very long pause before he'll answer you. He's very thoughtful, and very quiet, and not very approachable unless he's used to you. Then he's fairly pleasant, only fairly though. It's safe to say he only tolerates humans; oddly enough for a vampire he isn't even keen on having sex with them, which is strange since feeding and sex often go hand in hand most favourably with vampires. But not Rob, he likes his girls dead and for the most part his food out of a bottle. 'So how can she be?' he adds after another long pause, addressing Eric while changing the track on the laptop in front of him without even looking, listening through one big can on his headphones as he holds it to his ear.

'She just is, you do not need to know specifics. And if you have any further questions they can wait until the meeting' he replies, Rob giving him a swift nod in reply before turning his attention to a human girl the other side of the booth, extending his head to her to hear her song request and then nodding his head and holding up four fingers, to indicate he'll put it on in four songs time. She hangs around giving him an expectant look for a few minutes, to which he raises his eyebrows in a 'what the fuck do you want' kind of manner, making her turn and leave with embarrassment written all over her face.

'Breathers' he scoffs darkly to Eric, who just raises his eyebrows and puts his arm around me.

'Not all of them are as infuriating as you think Robert' he replies casually, before steering me away and back over to the stage where we sit and look out over the masses, with me being entertained as always since my place by Eric's side naturally means I receive glares from virtually every fang banger in there. Like I say, it's something that amuses more than it bothers me, especially when I visit the bathroom after a while, and find four pairs of those glowering eyes all on me when I open the cubicle door after flushing.

'Ladies' I address them all with, as they stand with folded arms, looking both mean and expectant.

'So, there's one thing and one thing only that we wanna know' the ringleader looking woman asks as she steps forward, sweeping a hand through her mid length black hair.

'And what might that be?' I ask casually as I wash my hands.

'What in the name of all things unholy, is Eric Northman like in bed you lucky, lucky girl!' she then states in a voice totally changed as she and her friends begin to smile warmly and friendlily at me, showing me their mean facade was all just put on.

'We've seen you up there with him a few times now, so we assume you're like his girlfriend or something? But we didn't think he actually dated humans, we just thought he, ah, fucked and moved on to the next' another girl, with beautiful natural auburn hair all curly and free flowing down her back asks me.

'Yes, I'm his. But no, I'm not strictly human either so that explains it for you' I reply, not prickled by them at all. They seem a lot more level headed women than some that frequent this club, and sound more excited and curious than devious and nosey.

'Really? You're a Supe?' the woman who originally questioned me asks. 'What are you?' she then adds, using the shortened name for a supernatural I've often heard.

'I like to keep that to myself, no offence. But back to your original question, that I can answer for you, sex with Eric is like the greatest, most earth shattering orgasm you've ever had multiplied by a thousand. But sometimes, not even that description comes close, pardon the pun' I reply while the four women stand and giggle raucously.

'Well do us all a favour; enjoy him on my behalf too please!' The red head asks.

'Me too' come the voices of the other three women all at once, causing more laughter I actually join in on.

'Rest assured, I will' is all I answer them with, giving them a smile and a wink before I dry my hands and leave the bathroom, heading straight back to my vampire's side.

'Nicely handled' he comments, making me give him a quizzical look as I sip my gin over ice.

'Oh, been listening in have we?' I ask him, amusement all over my face.

'Yes I have, I watched them follow you into the bathroom, so thought it would be wise to sharpen my ears in that direction. And I must say, I do like it when you praise me so highly' he replies, looking thoroughly smug.

'You deserve it' I reply, smiling at him and then feeling a little shocked when he returns the same big smile, leans over and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, and then kisses me in front of everyone. As I've stated before he isn't into the whole public display of affection, so it surprises me whenever he does indulge in it. Pleasantly surprises me though I should add. 'Oh by the way, I'm starting to run out of clean clothes, would you mind chaperoning me home in a little while so I can go and collect some more, and put what I need to in the wash?' I then ask him.

'Yes, let's go now so we have enough time to get back before sunrise' he tells me, and with that agrees to meet me out by his car while I go and retrieve what I need to, before we head over to Bon Temps. We arrive outside my home at just gone 2am, and find that there's someone waiting for me on the porch as we pull up next to the house. But that someone is very welcome to my eyes indeed.

'Hello pretty kitty' I tell Poontang as she jogs over to me, meowing incessantly. I pick her up and kiss her head as I stroke her fur, Eric taking my keys from me and easily carrying my case full of dirty clothes into the house with him after he's opened the door, while I make a big fuss of the furry little princess in my arms. I've missed her a lot.

'Shall we just stay here tonight? It would save us having to rush back when you're all finished doing your washing and re packing clean clothes, and to be honest I think someone has missed her owner too' he tells me, coming over and reaching out to tickle Poon behind the ears, bracing his arm when she crawls from my grasp and walks along his huge muscular arm until she's sat perched on one of his broad shoulders, looking down at him and meowing, and then butting her face off his head and purring. She likes her Eric. 'And missed me too it would appear' he then adds, scratching her back and then removing her from his shoulder before taking off his long leather trench coat and placing it over the back of the armchair on his way to the couch.

'If you don't mind yeah, it'd be nice to spend a little time at home' I reply. It also means I can catch up on my work tomorrow too, since through Lafayette I organised all of my clients to send their overdue bookwork to his place (at my expense too of course), which I can go and collect from him in the morning, and to also thank him for caring for Poon so well for me too. And it turns out that when I enter the kitchen, little Poontang has been quite the spoiled cat by Uncle Lafayette and Uncle Jesus while I've been away. Before I get to the note Lafayette has left for me I've already noticed she has a brand new collar on, a purple one with little sparkles for detail. I wouldn't have picked it for her, but when you leave your cat with two gay men for a week and a half, these things are bound to happen...

_Hey peach tree, hope everything is going well, haven't been able to get you on your cell so I left this just in case you popped home for anything. Just to let you know little miss kitty has behaved herself well, Jesus and I took her to Pet City the other day because her claws needed a trim (go there next time instead of the vets, they only charge you ten bucks!), and we picked up the new collar for her (she came back minus hers a few nights ago) as well as some toys while we were there. Her bed, transport bag and said toys plus her food (I brought her another bag of chow since she was running low) are all back at my place. And no, you don't owe me a dime either sugar. See you when I see you!_

Immediately I call my friend to thank him, but find his cell has been diverted to voice mail, which means he's either 'getting his fuck/smoke/drink on' (as he words it, delete where appropriate) so just leave him a voice mail to tell him to text me when he's free and that I'll head over to pick everything up again. And with that I'm free to unpack my case and throw all my dirty clothes straight in the wash, and put back a few items I didn't wear into my closet when I head to my bedroom in search of fresh clothes to take back to Eric's with me tomorrow evening. It's good to be home, and it's good to be home with him too. But was isn't good is the timing of things after I've gone into my bedroom, put the clothes away and got some fresh ones out and then gone to my jewellery box, which a sudden plunge into darkness makes me drop all over the floor. Great, what a time for a power cut, and even with my improved night vision this shouldn't be a problem to locate all the small bits of jewellery currently scattered across the carpet, but I feel I need a little extra help. It was one hell of a large jewellery box. And then help arrives, carrying a candle with him that he uses to light the ones over on my dresser, and the small scented ones on either nightstand.

'There, I don't need the light but I thought you might, even with your improved vision' he tells me, placing the large green pillar candle he's carrying down on my dresser and crouching down to help me pick up all the jewellery that's been scattered all over the floor and underneath my bed.

'Greatly appreciated in this current situation' I tell him with a smile, holding out the box for him to tip a handful of jewellery he's collected up into, before something right under the bed catches his eye. And after half of him disappears underneath to retrieve it, after passing the small thin gold bracelet back to me it would seem something else has caught his eye.

'Well, what do we have here then?' he asks me with much interest in his voice. Who knows? I have absolutely no idea what the hell is under there, a lot of it was just 'random stuff' as I word it shoved under there because of lack of a better space when I first moved in. But when he pulls out the steel case lockable box, I remember soon enough. Especially since what's caught his eye was obviously put back haphazardly when it was last used, and is hanging over the edge of the shut box. A single lash of a cat o' nine tails; a real one too and not some cheap reproduction copy, which is revealed to a very, very interested Eric when I click open the locks and lift the lid.

'I forgot I still had all this stuff! I thought James took it with him when we split up. He was the boyfriend I had before Harrison, who was the only guy I've dated bar you that was even vaguely interested in all this' I reply, before laughing loudly at just how thrilled Eric looks as he gently slaps the cat o' nine tails off my bare shoulder. And then he goes back to the box, and begins to laugh that laugh I rarely hear; the amused little rumble that's much louder than his usual few bursts of air through his nose.

'Are so many buttons and whistles really necessary to bring a woman to orgasm? Oh, lights too' he says as we both laugh a little more, and he switches on the rampant rabbit sex toy I had stashed away in there, looking very amused by it as it rotates around, and a cluster of multi coloured lights flash at the bottom. It's very pretty and girly for my liking, but Anna brought it for me for my birthday years and years ago stating that I just 'had to try it', which is what I voice to him.

'And I take it since it's been stuffed in here that you tried it and didn't like it?' he asks me, turning it off again and putting it back in the box before he continues to rummage.

'It wasn't as impressive as she made out, too many of those buttons and whistles you mentioned. Besides, now I share my bed with someone who can move his tongue as quickly at this thing can vibrate I don't need it' I tell him with a wink, taking it back from the box and tossing it in the trash. 'It doesn't work properly any longer anyway, I wore it out in discovering if I liked it or not' I add, watching him pull a slight knowing face and hearing him mutter 'I can believe that' under his breath. So in reply I grab the cat o nine tails from him and give his arm a good whack with it, the leather making that sexy snapping noise (well, I think it's a sexy noise) it does just before it meets the muscles.

'Oooh, again' He says in a lust filled tone that also yields comic undertones. And so I do.

'Mmmm, again' he replies, starting to smile at me. And so I oblige him, but cannot stop laughing as I do at the face he's making. He rarely really makes me chuckle hard, but when he does I really do let go and enjoy it. He's a lot more humorous than you'd give him credit for, but only very, very occasionally. He isn't laughing later on that morning, when I'm flogging his bare back with it and licking away the blood afterwards. Oh no, the only noise he makes is that highly aroused growl I've come to expect and like from him.

'I think I enjoyed that a little too much' he tells me afterwards, after I've taken the cat o' nine tails into the bathroom to wash all the blood off the leather lashes, his blood and not mine. I don't like the feeling of it much, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy beating someone with it for their own enjoyment.

'Yes, my insides can vouch for just how much you did enjoy it too' I tell him, feeling very internally tender from the sexual battering my body just took as I climb into bed with him, curling up on top of him. I have of course drunk some of his blood for its healing effects, but it doesn't work instantly. But one thing that does come instantly is the sleep we both fall into just a few moments later, blissful, undisturbed slumber that we both need. And it's nice, so nice to fall asleep next to him knowing I actually can do just that, fall asleep without worrying about him now he's recovered. Our next task together is going to be finding out who sent that soul reaper after me in the first place, and more importantly, why. I wake up eight hours later, feeling refreshed and ready to start my day (even though it's 2pm in the afternoon when it starts) I firstly head over to see Lafayette and collect my cats things and all the box files of invoices he kindly took in for me before heading back to mine and beginning my work, work that lasts well into the night, even after the change in location after we head back to the club (Eric being adamant I'm not to be left alone at all until after the meeting tomorrow night), and I sit and tirelessly add up sums downstairs, while he entertains the masses by just sitting there looking as devastatingly handsome as he does. I often note that he has the easier job of the two of us, but don't you ever tell him I said that. Can you imagine the tirade? I can!

And as I sit and work, managing to catch up at speed since Eric's apartment is so far down that the noise from the club just doesn't penetrate the concrete I find contentment in the fact that I can come here to work undisturbed, that he really doesn't mind and also doesn't expect me to give him my sole and undivided attention at all times. He understands how much seeing him messes with my sleeping patterns, since my waking hours can switch from daylight to nocturnal at the blink of an eye. It's why I'm going to suggest we don't see each other unless he comes to me for about a week after he's arranged everything he needs to at the meeting tomorrow night, I'll need that long to catch up with everything and also all those daylight hours do come in useful for seeing my friends and family. I suppose I have to get around to telling my parents I'm in a relationship with a vampire at some point, even though I know how it'll go already. Dad will be fine I'm sure, he has a few vampires who work for him on the night shift (of course) at the shot blasting company he owns and manages just outside of Baton Rouge so I know he'll be totally supportive. My mother on the other hand, well, she has a tendency to worry. And not stop worrying, or questioning those she's worried about. But before my mind can sit and conjure up the scene between my mother and me when I tell her about Eric any further...speak of the devil.

'Far be it of me to tell you what to do, but you need to rein in your cookie consumption a little I think' he tells me, taking the packet off the table in front of me, screwing the top up and then putting them in the draw of the old, very old desk of his I'm sat at.

'Do you think I'm getting a little chubby then?' I ask him, totally honestly. And if I am, I want him to say yes so I can do something about it. I like honesty, I'm not one of these silly women who asks if she's put on weight just because she wants to hear a sugar coated lie that she hasn't, I genuinely want to know.

'Not at all, but if you keep eating those little chocolate baked goods at the rate you are, then you'll never fit this' he tells me, moving like lightening and opening the door to his walk in wardrobe to reveal a beautiful, elegant long black dress that makes my eyes feel like they're about to pop out of my head hanging up on the back of the door.

'Eric, it's beautiful! Thank you' I tell him, watching him make a pleased looking sort of face at my approval of his choice.

'You're very welcome' he tells me, taking it off the hanger for me while I strip off to try it on, him helping me with the zip once I've pulled it on. It's a beautifully cut dress I must say, it has two layers of fabric to it, one matt black and the other black iridescent with tiny little black crystals sewn onto it, only one shoulder, and a high slit almost to the thigh. 'I think Jean Paul outdid himself with this one' he then adds.

'Jean Paul?' I question.

'Gautier, it's a couture piece, so be careful with it' he tells me, while once again I feel my eyes bulge. Gautier couture is one thing other than incredibly beautiful, it's incredibly expensive too.

'I will be, and thank you once again, I feel very spoiled' I reply as he puts his arms around me.

'I like spoiling you' he replies, touching a finger under my chin to lift my head and plant a soft kiss on my lips. And it's then that I notice it, how...different he looks right now, and not in a bad way.

'You look...I don't know, there's something different about you. Does that sound strange? You just look, like something has changed' I voice to him, a little bafflement in my voice as I really can't work out exactly what is different.

'Something has changed' is all he replies with, smiling down at me before kissing me again. And little do I know it yet, but it doesn't take me long to find out what the change is either.

**Authors note - As always, THANK YOU for the reads and reviews! You are ALL WONDERFUL! Keep them coming, I really enjoy hearing what you guys think! xxx**


	37. Chapter 37

Eric's POV.

"I can't say I like it as much as the one I brought for you, but it does make you look absolutely exquisite" I tell Tyra, just half an hour before the vampires and werewolves I've summoned for tonight's meeting arrive. Standing behind her as she checks her appearance in the mirror I let my hands rest on the curve of each hip, bathed in the long deep grey dress hugging her beautiful figure and kiss the side of her neck as she adds items of jewellery to complete her outfit.

"Well that one is a little too nice to wear just to meet your vampire troops in, but I do agree with you" she replies, turning her head to kiss my cheek, wiping away the small smudge of deep red lipstick she's wearing with her thumb afterwards. It shocks me just how dear this beautiful woman has become to me, but it no longer scares me though. I listened and I listened well to Agnes when she stated that it is in a vampires' nature to take whatever they want as theirs, that there is no shame in it. Also after much consideration I did see her point about allowing happiness back into your existence in order to survive.

The only thing that troubles me of course is the fact that she's now become a target because of her involvement with me, and whatever grudge any stronger vampire has against me in the future means that of course, she will be targeted again. But I rest assured that this will be something that perhaps will not happen as long as we stay where we are, since I'm the oldest, strongest vampire in the whole of the USA. If anyone from these shores tried to hurt her they'd meet their true death at my hands. Regardless of rank also; whatever punishment or fine I'd receive for killing them would be more than worth the assurance of Tyra's safety.

I have to repay such devotion somehow, and taking meticulous care of her is how I'll do it. She's forgiven me for things I wouldn't readily forgive someone for, stood by me, understood me, cared for me and never questioned me. As a vampire, I've never met a woman capable of doing and being all of that all at once; and who wants and expects very little in return. Not like most women who are only interested in me because of my looks, status as a vampire, and money. The fact she's not a drop that shallow is perhaps one of the things I like best about her.

"Oh just so you know, I'm not wearing any underwear" she tells me before gliding elegantly out of the bathroom, looking back over her shoulder and winking. That's another thing I like best about her. She always finds some way to attract my attention, and usually excite me at the same time. She knows that the little illicit piece of information she gave me will be on my mind now until our time is free for just us again; but right now one hour is not enough time for what I plan on doing to her. The sexual connection between us is the strongest I've known with a woman, either as a human or a vampire.

Still there's so much more to what we've become to each other than just sex. Tolerating letting a woman become this close to me really has been of benefit to me, she makes life more enjoyable for me now she's in it and I really have come to see the benefits of having a companion. For one thing like I stated before her interest in me goes beyond my sexual prowess, looks, vampire status or money. She actually wants to know me too, know of my life as it was as a human, and how it's been throughout my entire time as a vampire.

I suppose in a way there has always been a small part of me that has wanted to speak of the many, and great things I've seen as a vampire. The way the world has changed around me through the ages, and what I've experienced in those changes too. Up until recently the only other I've had to speak to about that is Pam, so it's nice that I have someone so eager to sit and listen to what my eyes have seen and what my mind has remembered.

Tyra can and usually does sit and listen to me talk for hours, which isn't something I'm used to either. Yet she shows patience when I fall silent (I'm very concise as you know) and urges me to continue, her face alight with interest in my stories of centuries gone by. It's nice to know I can fascinate someone like that, that their curiosity in me is over something no one else has ever been even faintly interested in hearing. Even to the point that sometimes I have to stop and ask her 'am I talking too much?' to which she always states that I am not and she'll be the first to tell me if I am, before encouraging me to keep on talking and telling her of my past.

And in turn to learn about her and her life before we met has been an experience I have honestly enjoyed. Throughout history only a very small handful of humans have ever captured my interest enough for me to warrant actually being interested in listening to them speak of themselves. Tyra is most definitely at the top of that list. And after many an evening of careful listening I now know pretty much all there is to know about Tyra Boden; from how she coped when her mother was murdered and how it drove her to succeed, to the fact that together she and Anna travelled to over thirty different countries on their vacation travels in their late teens/early twenties.

Also, I can tell you what her preferred tastes in literature and music are and how she always felt her twelfth grade math teacher disliked her from the moment she laid eyes on her. Ask me a question and I can answer it. And in knowing everything I do know about her, clichéd as it sounds, the more I like her. That's why I'm thinking the things I'm thinking about her now. Why there's no other woman out there, or who will ever exist, that I want to be as close to me as I hope Tyra will further become...

Tyra's POV.

"You're doing that weird thing again" I tell Eric, perhaps my most used phrase to him when he's smiling at me. This time just like any other recently, all it makes him do is smile more and look quietly amused. Like he's the only one in on a joke or something, but whatever it is he's definitely not sharing. 'Really, what's with you?' I then ask him, taking my glass of red wine off the table in front of me to quench myself with a slightly nervous gulp.

"I'll tell you later" he replies eventually, after just staring at me for a few moments, something that just prompts me to roll my eyes. There's definitely something up with him, and it isn't to do with the impending meeting upstairs either. Since I drink quite a good amount of his blood for sexual healing purposes it means of course I can feel his emotions too, and right now he's feeling very content but also I can pick up on a small amount of apprehension. This isn't something I'm going to let myself wonder about right now though, for now is the time to head upstairs and meet the creatures assembling up there for the first time, bar Fabien and Rob who I have of course met before.

And then there are the other vampires and also the presence of three werewolves too, who prove to be quite the entertainment when Eric and I enter the club and walk over to where the tables have been set out in a long line. As soon as two of them see me and I look them in the eye, up they stand while bowing their heads whilst whispering between each other.

"Holy fucking Jesus! That's a queen!"

"How though, my mamma told me they were extinct!"

"Do you wanna lift your head and disrespect her to ask her the question?"

"No!"

"Well shut up then!"

That's the way the whispers went, until the smaller of the two weres looks to his side to see the third, and much younger were than he or his friend, still engrossed in a game on his Nintendo DS console.

"STAND UP AND BOW YOUR HEAD STUPID! SHOW SOME RESEPCT!" He suddenly shouts, grabbing the teenage boy by his jacket and hauling him out of his seat. The teenager is dragged to his feet whilst looking put out for a few moments, and then his eyes land on me, he mutters 'oh shit!' and immediately bows his head. I can see all of them watching me from under their eyebrows nervously, waiting for my nod which I give them before sitting down. And I marvel as I do at how they instantly know who and what I am, how strong their instinct is to detect me and automatically act just as they did. It's totally amazing to me.

"Thank you your majesty" the two elder weres tell me at once, the third nervously smiling at me and nodding back, looking like he's unsure of how to act.

"Please, call me Tyra" I tell them, not wanting to be addressed so grandly at all.

"Your majesty, please excuse my boldness to argue with you, but out of respect we just cannot do that" the taller, very handsome of the three says as he and his two friends find their seats again.

"Well then maybe when you get to know me better, and that's on my order too" I tell him, glancing at the other two as well and watching them all nodding without question.

"Majesty" they all reply one after the other obediently. Eric told me that if I insist to them that something is 'on my order' then they'll obey me without any question, hesitation or suggestion at all. And being referred to regally really will take some getting used to, so I would like them to address me by my actual name one day. Maybe when they've gotten used to it, as I can see they're going to have to get used to having someone to answer to as much as I'm going to have to get used to that very fact too; that I am the governing body for this particular species now. Not that I feel at all comfortable with lording it up over anybody; I'm simply not that sort of person. Sitting down I am free to observe now everyone else present at the table, surprisingly noting not two but three faces that I recognise. Rob, Fabien, and surprisingly Sookie Stackhouse too.

"Good evening gentleman, and lady" Eric begins as he nods in acknowledgement to the vampires, weres and Sookie and takes his place at the top of the row of tables all laid out in a very business meeting type of fashion. 'There's one reason I've brought you all here tonight, and perhaps from the reaction of our werewolf friends you've already guessed that reason in part' he then continues with.

"And I deduce that you're having all of us on Eric, you and the weres are in this together. A wolf queen, here in Louisiana when the last traces of them died out in Scandinavia over one millennia ago? Get real" says the large vampire sat right at the end of the table facing Eric, shaking his head in disbelief. 'Of course, there is one way to test that theory' he then continues as he gets up from his seat and boldly yet slowly walks around the table towards me. And just as he makes a reach to touch my shoulder, suddenly the next thing anyone sees after the mere blink of an eye is Eric standing nose to nose with him.

"If you even lay a finger on her it'll be the last thing you do, the very last. She is mine Cassius, and what is mine is there for no other vampires' touching or taking. Be seated" Eric tells him in a deadly whisper, making the large African American vampire I now know to be called Cassius begrudgingly back down and walk back to his seat without word.

"Does anyone else want to argue with the validity of my lady's supernatural status? No? Good, now we can begin" Eric then says as he takes his seat again and turns to look at me for a moment fleeting enough for me to see him speedily wink at me before he addresses all present once more.

"You've been called here because you're the most trusted and the strongest vampires and werewolves in my area, all bar Miss Stackhouse of course who is present because of her telepathy skills. But all of you will have an equally important role to play in ensuring her safety, which as it stands currently is in great jeopardy" he then finishes, his eyes flickering around the table to survey all present for their reactions.

"Not that I want to question or argue with what she is, I believe it to be very much true since I can pick up on her energy from just sitting next to her at my age. But, how did she come to be?" Asks the sandy haired vampire in the chair to my left, talking and looking right at Eric like I'm not even there; something my vampire picks up on instantly.

"Ask her yourself Stanley, as you observed she is sitting right next to you after all. And she doesn't appreciate being spoken about like she isn't even in the room either, do you my dear?" Eric replies, taking my fingers in his hand and giving them a squeeze.

"No, I don't" I reply, slowly turning to face the aforementioned Stanley, and then looking at anyone but him as I explain to all present just how I came to be concisely. Rudeness pisses me off from the get go, so Stanley now has a black mark against his name just for that. And as I talk I notice another thing too, and that is that my captive audience really only extends to the three weres and Sookie. The vampires look curious, but not as enthralled by the story as the four non dead persons sat at the table. Well, all but one.

"Fascinating, and absolutely astounding too" Fabien begins. "And Eric, whatever I have to do to ensure you fair lady's safety you can count me in without question" he then adds humbly.

"As always Fabien your unwavering loyalty has been noted, and I thank you for it too" Eric replies with a curt nod Fabien returns, before running a hand through his long silky black hair, whilst running his eyes over Sookie who is sat to his right.

"I can see clearly why she'd be in danger. Blood poachers and the like" Cassius then pipes up from the end of the table, nodding his large bald head slowly and carefully. 'So what happened for you to attain that she's presently in danger Eric?' he then asks.

"A soul reaper was sent after her, one I was forced to drain of course" he replies.

"Ah! Join the club" Fabien pipes up with a twitch of his mouth that indicates that his own memory of such an event was not pleasant. I'm getting really good at reading vampire's now I've been so close to them for the best part of a year. Being able to read what they feel based on such minimal facial expressions is a very difficult thing to do, but I think I'm getting the hang of it.

"A reaper, that's some old magic being used there. Very old, I haven't heard of that technique being used for quite a number of years now" Stanley comments.

"Back to your observation Cassius, you would have had a very valid point there. But the thing is only Pamela and Agnes Bynhild know of her true supernatural status. So whoever sent it has a grudge against me, they sent it to attack her knowing that is the fastest way to score a direct hit against me. And there's only one vampire I know in existence who has that kind of grudge against me. At least on these shores" Eric says, just as Pam herself walks in and excuses herself for being late directly to Eric before taking the free seat next to him and opposite me.

"And you don't suspect queen Bynhild of any deviousness at all? Strange" Stanley then states with a raise of his eyebrows.

"No Stanley, not so strange. That woman has a tremendous amount of respect for Wolverina, and was very fond of Tyra when she met her just two months ago. There's no way she'd ever harm her, I stake my reputation on that too" he replies, his thumb idly stroking the underside of my fingers he still has hold of, while I notice the gesture captures the gaze of Sookie. She looks away and flushes with a little embarrassment as being caught staring when I look at her.

"So that points a finger right at the door of one R. Edgington then" Rob chimes in with his usual slow carefulness to his speech.

"Yes it would. But what we need to figure out is how. I need a couple of volunteers to travel to Jackson and find out what is happening in his inner circle. I feel they have been given orders to take me down while he is incarcerated. Cassius, you and Stanley are perhaps the strongest and the most able due to your age, I want information gathering and I want it gathering soon. From his vampires and weres, how you gain that information is neither here nor there to me. I'm playing by no rules where Edgington is concerned. But whatever you do, make sure it is administered with the upmost discretion. Leave tomorrow; your expenses will be paid in full of course and a very attractive fee for your trouble also" Eric replies, Cassius and Stanley giving one nod each in understanding.

"And the rest of us, are we to be her werewolf, vampiric and telepathic bodyguards? And speaking of guarding bodies, are you busy later?" Fabien replies, addressing Sookie with the last part of his sentence while giving her a very approving look.

"Fabien, I'm newly single, not newly insane!" she replies, giving him a slight withering look that makes him chuckle quietly.

"Charming" he says almost under his breath, turning in his chair so his back is to her. Of course, Sookie and Bill Compton are no more after she learned (from my vampire) that his first interest in her was purely based on the task given to him by the queen of Louisiana, Sophie Anne which was to discover if she was a fairy, or at least part _fae._

"Yes Fabien, you are correct. But this must be another thing done discreetly, from a distance too. Tyra is an extremely independence woman, and I do not wish to impose upon that independence one bit. The house does not need watching over in the day; if any werewolf in association with Russell tries to harm her then her powers of course will protect her as soon as she looks at them. But during the night if she's there without me then I want someone there in the forest keeping an eye on her. Also, if she has to travel anywhere during the day I want her to be escorted, just in case of ambush. And Tyra, I'm sorry. I know this is hardly the way you want to live, but I must do this to keep you safe" he replies, addressing me at the end as he stares at me intently.

"I understand" I tell him. And I do, totally. I might not like the fact that whenever I'm not with Eric I have to have a chaperone, but I know that this is the way it must be, until whoever is causing this threat is a threat no longer that is. I feel touched and also very cared for that Eric is going to these lengths to ensure my safety too. It confirms to me loud and clear that our relationship is serious from his point of view should I have needed that confirming any more. And after the meeting is over the vampire's exit swiftly, leaving just me, Eric, Sookie and the weres at the table with Pam venturing back downstairs to 'continue playing with the delicious beauty I left tied to my bed' as she worded it.

"Have fun you horny old dyke" I call after her dryly, watching her stop and glare at me before she starts smiling.

"Oh you know I will" she replies with a wink before she's gone within a blink of my eyes.

"Listen, I'd really like to get to know the three of you better since I've hardly had chance to so far tonight. Would you like to join me for dinner tomorrow night? I'm not much of a cook so I'd like to take you three out for dinner if you've no prior engagements?" I ask them all, watching their faces light up and all of them nodding vigorously.

"Fine with me your majesty" replies the tallest and most attractive.

"And you are? Sorry, I don't even know your names yet!" I exclaim with a little laughter, shaking my head slightly with embarrassment.

"Lance, a pleasure to meet you my queen" he replies, shaking my hand and bowing his head from across the table.

"Peter, packmaster of the Louisiana territory" comes the reply from the oldest were sitting next to him.

"Cobie" replies the teenage werewolf, extending the same handshake and head bow gesture his two elder friends did.

"Lance, Peter, Cobie, thank you for pledging to look after me. You've no idea how much it's appreciated. And I look forward to getting to know you all better too. If I can take your contact numbers I'll let you know a time and a place as soon as I've managed to get a reservation" I tell them all, watching them nod as they pull their cell phones from their pockets. We exchange numbers and with that they leave, just leaving me, Sookie and Eric at the table.

"Tyra, do you mind if I had a private word with you?" She asks me as soon as the weres have left the building.

"Whatever you have to say to me you can say in front of Eric" I tell her with a smile. I don't believe in keeping secrets from him.

"No I can't, sorry to be rude about that" she presses, giving Eric a nervous glance.

"I'll be downstairs when you're done. Sookie, a pleasure as always" he replies as he stands up, kissing the top of my head before he vanishes at speed.

"So, what can't you say to me in front of Eric then?" I ask her with interest.

"To warn you Tyra, do you honestly know what you're getting into becoming involved with a vampire like Eric? He's conniving and dangerous, and I don't want you to get hurt or caught up in his games" she replies with an air of authority she really shouldn't have. I can guess already she thinks she knows him better than I do.

"And what games would those be Sookie?" I ask her, this time not so friendlily.

"Whatever his reason is to be so interested in you, you being a Wolverina and all and him wanting to use that to his advantage because I can tell you now, Eric doesn't do anything unless he has something to gain from it for his own personal use" she states.

"Well...he's does have something to gain. He has me, which is what he wants. And I have him, which is what I want. And I fail to see how any of that is your business to be frank" I reply, my words becoming more icy by the syllable. I do not appreciate people poking their noses into my personal life in this manner.

"Tyra please, I'm just saying this because I care sweetie. I don't want you to be messed around by him, and I have known Eric for a lot longer than you. I do know what he's capable of" she tells me, while I just stare at her incredulously. She honestly does think she knows my boyfriend better than I do.

"He isn't messing me around Sookie, he's caring about me. Because he does, with no ulterior motives behind that interest either. What I am makes no difference to him, and I know that for sure. What I also know for sure is that at one point he used your emotions to get what he wanted out of certain situations you were both in. And now he's finished playing those games and has hardly batted an eyelid in your direction since he met me, you don't like it. Don't try and muddy the waters with us just because you're jealous" I tell her, just about keeping hold on my fury.

"Jealous? Oh no, you did NOT just say that!" she exclaims, her eyes wide. Is that a nerve I just hit? I think so.

"Truth hurts huh? Face it Sookie, you'd love to be in my shoes right now, and the fact that you are not coupled with the fact you know the way Eric is with me is never the way he intended to be with you stings. Don't take that out on me, and don't think for one minute I'll tolerate your meddling. Eric won't either. Get out" I reply firmly, pointing at the exit.

"Just like him" she mutters under her breath coldly.

"Yeah, I am. It's why we're so well suited. And why you and Bill were so well suited too, just as pathetic and jealous as each other. Now like I said, get out" I reply as I glare at her, watching her look angrier for a few moments before getting up, ripping her jacket and purse off the back of the chair she was sat in and storming out towards the door. Honestly, what the hell did she expect me to say and do? Just let her sit there and verbally bash my man and try and convince me she knows him better than I do? To quell my anger at her I head over to the bar and sink a shot of brandy quickly, feeling it burn through my throat and down to my stomach. It's just what I need to warm up the frosty mood she's left me in. And then if that doesn't, the huge hug I received from a fire warmed Eric as soon as I get back into the apartment does the job nicely. Pulling me onto his lap he circles his arms around me and kisses my cheek as we watch the fire roar in front of us.

"You were right, she is just jealous. My fault in part I suppose, I did lead her on a little for a time as of course I told you" he tells me quietly. Of course he heard every word of our argument; I knew he wouldn't close his ears to it.

"I think she assumes just because it happened to her that you'll treat me exactly the same way. Shows how much she really 'knows' you doesn't it?" I reply with a slight sneer.

"Indeed it would. I had and have no loyalties to that girl whatsoever. My loyalty lies with you and if she doesn't like it then that's neither my problem nor yours. You were right to scold her in the manner you did for her assumptions about me; about us" he replies, stroking my hair. We sit like this in total silence for a few minutes, both becoming lost in watching the flames of the fire rippling and flickering before Eric speaks again.

"Well, we cannot get too comfortable. I'm taking you out tonight so put your shoes back on and get your coat while I change" he tells me, while I shuffle off his lap and stand again.

"And where are you taking me at 11.30pm exactly?" I ask him, wondering what places are still actually open at this hour. Perhaps a trip to the all night gallery I do the books for? It would make sense; Eric is a big appreciator of art.

"You'll find out when we get there" he tells me with a wink, leaving me to nervously anticipate the fact that from the sounds of it he's taking me out on a date. He's never done that before either, and little do I know but what he asks me on said date is something that as a vampire, he's never asked of anyone before now either. Something that will definitely go a long way to prove just how wrong one Miss Stackhouse's assumptions over my vampire are too...

**Authors note - As always, THANK YOU for the reads and reviews! You are ALL WONDERFUL! Keep them coming, I really enjoy hearing what you guys think! xxx**


	38. Chapter 38

Tyra's POV.

"What are you laughing at?" Eric asks me as we pull up at our destination for this evening (or rather morning since it just turned midnight), a place that is very familiar indeed. It's the Chateaux where a guy called Darren took me on a date months and months ago. A date Eric sabotaged.

"The fact that you've brought me here of all places" I reply, shaking my head gently as I compose myself and look over at him.

"Well, it does stock a number of very fine reds and I know how much you appreciate a good glass of wine" he replies just as we pull up.

"I didn't realize they stayed open so late" I comment as we get out of the car and Eric hands the valet guy his keys.

"They aren't, unless you pay them to be" he tells me as we walk in and are met by the same woman who called me a cab after I'd been stood up. Although of course she doesn't recognise me.

"Good evening Mr. Northman, you table is ready. Please follow me" she says, tucking a wine list efficiently under her arm and walking through the empty restaurant, over to the back where there a large set of double glass doors open. They lead out to a huge balcony, abandoned totally apart from the presence of a table and hundreds of little lights strewn around the railings and in the trees and shrubs all around it.

"I thought it was about time I took you somewhere nice. And when I was here before I noticed how beautiful this balcony is. Do you agree?" he asks me as we sit down and I'm passed the wine menu. I know what I want immediately, and check they still have the Beaujolais in the same year I enjoyed so much before. They do, and I order that before I reply.

"I do agree yes, it's very beautiful" I reply with a smile, looking between the lights and him. Everything here is beautiful, that's for sure. 'And I have to commend you, I did wonder when you were going to take me somewhere other than bed' I then add in joke, making him laugh quietly.

"You deserve some special treatment, so get used to it. It's about time I stopped being so antisocial and started taking you out more. If nothing else but to show my appreciation of you" he tells me, reaching for my hand and linking his fingers through mine. "And also, there is something I wish to discuss with you too" he then adds after a few minutes of silence apart from me thanking the waiter who arrives with my wine and a bottle of double O negative blood for Eric. He hates drinking synthetic blood, so I have a feeling this is purely to be sociable towards me.

"Sounds ominous" I reply with a smile after taking a sip of my wine.

"It's more of a truth that needs to be told more than anything, so I shall just come out and say it. Tyra, I absolutely adore you. I do not know if this ancient heart of mine is ever capable of loving someone, but with you it comes very close. Your loyalty to me has been so unwavering that at times I've been scarcely sure I deserve it, and for that I thank you. You're the most remarkable woman I have ever met, either as a human or as a vampire. And now is the time I want to confirm my devotion to you in what I have to say next" he replies, while reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small box that he lets go of my hand to press into my palm. No! He's not about to...is he? Looking at him in probably my most shocked face ever I take the box and open it to reveal perhaps the most gorgeous ring I've ever seen in my life. A thick platinum band covered in swirls of white and yellow diamonds.

"Before you look even more panicked than you already do, I'm not about to propose. It's for this finger, to replace the one I trod on and broke when your jewellery box's contents was scattered everywhere recently" he then tells me, taking the beautiful ring from its box and placing it on my middle finger of my right hand, where the butterfly shaped one he did indeed squash flat under his big feet previously lived. "Do you like it?" he then asks me.

"I'm not sure, I'm currently being blinded by all this sparkly" I reply, watching him smile. 'I love it, thank you' I then tell him, leaning across the table and giving him a kiss.

"Good, I'm very glad you do. Because whenever you look at that ring I want you to remember that you're the most important thing I have, and how much I'm devoted to you too" he replies. Jesus, there's a first for me. I actually feel I've had the wind knocked out of me by romance and coming from a 1,080 year old vampire that's pretty impressive. And is touching my heart so much I feel close to tears right now.

"And I'm equally as devoted and adoring of you too, I hope you know that" I tell him, reaching out to briefly stroke the side of his face. He covers my hand with his and then kisses my palm before letting it go again, his eyes never moving from mine.

"Every time you look at me in the way you're looking at me now I know, and I feel it in your energy too. I've never felt anything like it, that constant reassurance that I'm wanted and needed by you on totally unconditional terms and a whole host of other emotions. Ones I know you are not yet ready to voice, but know I feel them. Like I always say, I've simply never known anyone like you, and because of that I want you to know one thing. The blood bond that could happen between us, I only want it if you do.

For I want you to know, and never forget I am with you because I choose to be, I want to be. Not because I've been made to be by some magical bonding between your species and mine" he tells me, while I take two huge gulps of wine to try and calm the huge lump in my throat. It's scary how quickly he's become so important to me, my handsome man, my protector, and my distant blood. He really is everything to me, and it's only now that it really does hit me.

"Could you excuse me for a few moments?" I ask him, standing up from the table.

"Did I say something wrong to you?" He asks me, looking and sounding a little sour all of a sudden.

"No, you said everything right. Just give me a few minutes" I reassure him, kissing his cheek before I slowly walk away from the table and over to a set of steps that lead off the balcony. I noticed them when I arrived, and also noticed they lead down to a huge garden below. A garden I'm now walking across with tears streaming down my face, feeling like a bit of an idiot. I do hate for people to see me cry though, so hence why I ran off. I just feel a little overcome, he's never expressed himself like that before to me; I honestly thought he wasn't capable of it. But to tell me I'm the closest thing he's come to love in over a thousand years, well that speaks volumes so huge are you really that surprised I'm crying right now?

This just feels so...real. So much more real and meaningful than it ever was, and also it's all I've ever wanted too. Someone like him, someone who's also a little like me. Yet the differences between us are vast enough to make it work, and we work so well together. There's the fact that he's Swedish too, and I know my biological parents would really like that, that the man I'm in what feels like suddenly a much more serious relationship with is the same nationality.

Then last but not least, the fact that he's my family, although very, very distant. Distant enough for it not to feel wrong, since if you're going to label it then he's my great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great cousin. That's a long, long way off it being hillbilly.

The hugest thing of all though boils down to one thing. The fact he's been willing to die for me. How many people can honestly say that the one they cherish most would give themselves like that without a second thought? It's not the kind of thing that happens every day, just like meeting someone like Eric is not something of a regular occurrence. He's unlike anyone I've ever known. He feels what I feel for him too, and voiced he knows I have feelings for him I'm not ready to voice. He's right too I suppose, I do. The more I think about it, the more I realize that I do love him.

I have a reluctance to ever voice it to him though, since I pretty much know I'll never hear it back. I accept it too; he is what he is after all. If he's not capable of love then that isn't his fault. It's just fact. He knows my feelings, and he's considerate enough of me not to voice it other than the fact that he likes what he feels when it's felt by him through my energy. It is with this in mind that I decide after such grand gestures on his part, I think it's time for me to do the same. And so I look down at the ring he gave me sparkling away on my finger, smile and then look back up at him as I turn around a large slated path that borders a cluster or white, pink and yellow rose bushes and head back up to him. I make sure I dry my eyes as I go, but still he doesn't fail to notice.

"If I'd have known all this was going to make you cry I'd have suggested we stayed at home" he tells me with his usual dryness as I sit down.

"You have no idea how much of a great time I'm having, despite that. Happy tears, as much as that embarrasses me" I reply, watching him frown slightly and shake his head.

"Don't hide your emotions from me again, you've no need to" he tells me, taking a sip from the bottle of OO negative and trying to disguise the fact he really isn't keen on it at all.

"And don't you do things for me that I know well you don't enjoy, like drinking this so I'm not sitting here drinking alone" I reply, flicking long silver painted nail off the side of his bottle. Pam's teaching herself how to airbrush and do nail art right now so I'm getting a fancy new paint job on them every day almost. Today they're a non brash shade of silver with little trails of gold glitter that remind me of fireworks exploding. They match my beautiful new ring very nicely.

"Is it really that obvious?" he asks me.

"Very much so, you can't hide your dislike of it from me. And you shouldn't have to either" I tell him with a wink.

"Now it's my turn to say that sounds ominous" he replies.

"And my turn to tell you all will be revealed, but not now" I say to him, watching his face become more curious looking by the second. He stares at me for what feels like a very long time before he picks up the wine bottle and refills my glass, and then finishes his bottle and pulls another slight disapproving face.

"Whatever it is I can hardly wait" he eventually says, sounding like he has a faint idea of what I'm not currently disclosing to him. He's probably picking up in it through my energy after all. After this we go on to more normal conversation, talking about work more than anything before the subject winds around to my encounter with Sookie earlier.

"I do not believe she was intentionally meddling. She isn't like that, she's not devious. But she is jealous, I could feel that coming off her in the meeting, and see it whenever she looked at you. And to be modest for once it probably isn't about any desires she might have toward me either; you're in a relationship with a vampire and she just had one end. She isn't trusting of my species right now, and for that she doesn't think anyone else should be either. Like you said though, she doesn't know me like you do so she's only judging on what she knows of me. My devious side that would bend people's emotions for my own personal gain, which is what I did with her" he says as we speak of the event.

"I think she's under the assumption that you do that with everyone. I mean you did do it to me to a degree for a while..." I reply before he cuts in.

"You were a much tougher nut to crack though my darling; this is why I respect you a thousand times more than I do that girl. I'm actually regretting calling her to the meeting in a way now. I know she can be trusted and her telepathy skills could prove useful to us, but I will not allow her to do anything to come between us either" he replies while taking my hand again. "I have to ask, you went to the same school as her, correct?" he then asks.

"Yes that's right, I was in the year above her" I confirm.

"So is it true that you once threw a fellow pupil down a flight of stairs?" he asks me with a raised eyebrow, looking humoured.

"No, that's not true at all. I kicked him down them" I reply with a smile before sipping my wine.

"Yes, I remember Sookie saying as much now. Over your lunch money too wasn't it?" he then asks.

"It was, and he wasn't getting a dime of it. I still remember it as clear as yesterday, how shocked he looked when I put my foot in his chest and sent him flying on his merry descent down the stairs. Four broken ribs, a broken wrist and a concussion; and he never bullied anyone again. But damn I was in trouble, the only reason I got away with not being expelled was because my father talked the principal around. Even though he had to appear angry and disappointed at me in front of her as soon as we got out of the office he told me he thought I'd done the right thing" I reply, watching Eric smile a little.

"Another thing I like a lot about you, you do not and will not let anyone try to walk all over you. If you'd have been alive in my time you wouldn't have been content to have been a wife and mother, you'd have been out on the battlefields with us" he replies knowingly while I nod.

"Yeah, I probably would have been. But I'm glad I wasn't, I'm glad my time with you is here, and now" I reply, leaning over the table to kiss his cheek and receiving his lips when he turns his head at the last minute. We decide not to stay for too much longer, and since the very sudden shift to autumn means the early morning air carries a chill to it I begin to feel a little cold, so hurriedly finish my last glass of wine before we leave.

Arriving back at the club little over half an hour later we head in through the front, and I receive all the usual glares for being the woman to walk at Eric Northman's side, his arm around my waist and not theirs. Not stopping to socialize we go straight down to the apartment and resume the position we were in before we left, him sitting in the big armchair he moved to face the fire with me on his lap.

We share content silence while watching the flames in front of us, with me undoing a button of the black shirt he wears to slip a hand inside and stroke his chest idly. Sitting there with him feeling the fire warm my left arm in particular and gently stroking the light smattering of blonde hairs across his chest is the last thing I remember, before the feeling of being placed down wakes me up.

"How long ago did I fall asleep?" I ask Eric as he sits down on the edge of the bed after putting me there.

"Only about half an hour ago, but go back to sleep and I'll be with you in a few hours. Fabien just called me, turns out he went to Jackson with Cassius instead of Stanley so I want to go and call him back to attain what is happening, and then I'll be as quiet as I can until I feel like turning in. Goodnight beautiful" he replies, while I nod sleepily and reach underneath myself to undo my dress zip while he helps me remove it.

"Goodnight" I reply once I've wiggled my way out of it, giving him a kiss before he exits, taking my dress with him to throw into the laundry on his way. He and Pam employ someone to do this for them, and it's a luxury he allows me to use too whenever I want. Getting under the covers I settle down, and feel very happy. I have to say, it's been an unforgettable evening. Well, morning.

Eric's POV.

"So tell me what's going on. Why are you there and Stanley absent?" I ask Fabien as soon as he answers his cell.

"His carelessness in a situation lead to him being exposed to a hunter, and he's had to go to ground to recover from the attack since he was exposed to sunlight for a time. I heard this third party from someone who resides in his nest" he replies as I sit down behind the desk in the office, pulling the chair away and resting my feet up on the top of it to the side of the computer. "Said hunter has been dealt with, and she was from the same resistance team we've dealt with before" he then continues.

Since vampires have walked the earth to the knowledge of humans, of course there have been a lot of them to take a dislike to us. Then there are the ones who just want us dead no matter what, including a whole group of hunters from Baton Rouge that mine and surrounding areas have under our radar almost constantly. Stanley, old but not wise. He is however very trustworthy, but not as sharp as the likes of Fabien, despite being almost twice his age. Fabien is only 328 years old; but he's sharp and keen, a vampire who gets a job done in a discreet and efficient manner. I should have sent him and Cassius originally. Stanley can consider himself struck off.

"Good, I appreciate your efficiency as ever. So now I know why you are there and Stanley is not, do you have anything to report?" I ask him after thoroughly digesting what I've been told.

"We just drove past Edgington's mansion, and then parked up a few streets away and did a quick 360 degree tour of the perimeters. It's on complete lock down, windows are boarded up and all the points of entrance are heavily chained. And there's armed AVL henchmen on the gates, so they aren't letting anyone in there. Whoever is doing the fallen kings' dirty work on his behalf; they aren't using the mansion as a meeting place. We'll have to look into this further Eric, it could mean we're here for longer than what was first expected" he replies, as I hear the vehicle he and Cassius are travelling in come to a stop, the latter muttering something about a room key that tells me they've probably just pulled up at their hotel.

"That's fine; stay for as long as you need to. I need information, I need to plan some sort of counter attack and finish this. Tyra cannot live in constant danger, I won't have it" I reply firmly.

"I understand that. I'll call you as soon as I have any news. My regards to your beautiful lady" he replies before hanging up and leaving me free to get back to the aforementioned beautiful lady. Or rather just to the same room as she, since I do not want to wake her. She's very tired these days, still exhausted from looking after me I feel. And because she's hit her workload hard over the last seventy two hours since I came around again. Well, there'll be a nice break for her soon enough, because little does she know I called Agnes yesterday afternoon as soon as I woke up and rescheduled our visit.

We'll be leaving five days from now (this coming Friday evening) and to be honest I am actually looking forward to it. Agnes and I discussed the need for Tyra to learn more of her species and with Agnes' mentoring learn how to correctly harness her powers. We jointly felt that now is the time for her to really come into what she is and be able to use her power since danger swirls all around us presently. Also I must admit I can be very selfish with Tyra, and I like to spend time with her so this will be a perfect way to satisfy my own selfishness and have her all to myself away from the worlds of work and the like.

All to myself is how I choose to have her now too, turning in a few hours early and gently wrapping an arm around her sleeping form, enjoying the warmth of her body against my own cold flesh, and breathing in her lovely scent as I rest my head behind hers and feel her stir.

"Hmmmm, back where I like him most" she mumbles in her half asleep daze, her fingers linking through my hand that rests on her stomach.

"Back where he likes to be most" I reply, kissing her shoulder and shutting my eyes. If you'd have told me a year ago I would be content with a woman like this I'd have laughed at you and labelled you utterly insane for thinking a vampire like myself could be capable of such emotional investment. Right now I'm just glad that for the first time ever, my opinion over something was totally wrong. I'm very, very glad of it in fact.

**Authors note - I'm absolutely overwhelmed at how well received this story has been! Honestly, I am! And I thank you ALL so much for your reads, reviews and advice! You're all too kind :) xx**


	39. Chapter 39

Tyra's POV.

"Okay, these are the last two dresses I have that fit the dressy but not over dressed category. Which one do you prefer?" I ask Lafayette, on the afternoon of the day I'm taking my werewolves out to dinner so we can all get to know each other a little better. My buddy here has just finished his shift at Merlotte's, so gate crashed my place for a coffee and also proved the perfect person to help me decide on what to wear tonight.

"I think the black one, and if you have a little black smart cardigan or a bolero style jacket it'd look really smart without being too dressy" Lafayette replies, his long body sprawled across my bed as he idly plays with one of my long silk scarves that's amongst all the accessories around him.

"Is all black too plain though?" I ask while putting the red dress down to study the one he chose more closely.

"Not if you do your usual thang of jazzing it up with some carefully selected pieces of jewellery it wouldn't be. Oh, hold up! Where are those snow leopard shoes y'all been moaning about having no place to wear yet?" he replies, suddenly throwing himself off the bed and coming to my side to bend and start checking the boxes of shoes all piled up in my closet.

"That grey coloured box, third one down from the top on the right" I tell him while pointing in its general direction.

"If you wear these, and if I lend you the scarf I know I have that'll exactly match these pumps it'll add something to it and prevent you from lookin' like a goth" he replies, before indicating he'll be back in a moment and leaving the room and then my house. No doubt to fetch said scarf. I pull off the skirt and shirt I've been wearing all day whilst visiting clients (and being chaperoned by Peter, the packmaster of 'my' weres) and quickly try on the dress and shoes.

Yep, I have an outfit and with that decision made I hop into the bathroom to take a quick shower. God knows how long Lafayette will be, he can be a touch disorganised with his accessories at times. And this one turns out to be one of them, since I'm all dried and dress and about to start on my makeup by the time he heads back into my bedroom, scarf in hand.

"I think I'll belt my waist with it, it's certainly long enough. Thank you for the loan" I tell him when he places it down on my lap and I carefully examine it before going back to painting on my foundation with a large flat brush.

"So, how are you adjusting to all this now? I know I ask you this every couple of weeks, but it's interesting. One of my friends being a queen of something" he asks me after sitting back down on the bed, clearing my accessory clutter to the side of him.

"I still find it strange, especially after meeting the werewolves. The instant respect they had for me, it was really weird. Almost like they'd met my kind before, they just did what they were meant to right away. Like it was something they did all the time, bowing their heads and waiting for nod to effectively tell them to be at ease for a lack of a better phrase. I didn't feel comfortable either, having that kind of power of someone" I reply, dusting my cheeks with loose powder now my foundation base is done.

"No doubt you'll get used to it. I suppose you're gonna have a whole lot else to get used to now though too aintcha' hooker? I mean I assume you're in some way responsible for their actions now, it's not something you can say you don't wanna do now they know they have a queen?" he asks, curious as ever.

"Well yes and no really, because when Peter collected me from Fangtasia this morning we had a long talk about it. He told me he felt it best to keep what I am strictly within the Louisiana territory; he agrees with Eric that it's dangerous to my safety to let my presence be known throughout the community worldwide. Especially since werewolves aren't yet public knowledge, except for very few like us" I begin, watching him nodding in the mirror as I comb my eyebrows through into neat arches and then pick up my liquid eyeliner and give it a good shake.

"He said that of course we'd talk about it more in depth later, but that unless it was something unspeakably grave he really wouldn't trouble me with the goings on in the werewolf community. He told me as packmaster he could control everything as he always has and report to me only if I wanted him to, but that of course if I wanted a bigger involvement in any way he'd respect my wishes to the letter" I then finish with as I stroke the liquid liner across one of my lids.

"I guess that's good then, that apart from all this right now with you being protected that yo' life ain't gonna suddenly change really considerably" Lafayette replies, while I nod as much as I dare considering I've just started to line lid number two.

"Uh huh" I reply as I concentrate. We chatter a little more about it before I change the subject, knowing I'll be bored of it by the time I get to the restaurant if I talk too much about it right now. He stays with me until Peter comes to fetch me promptly at 7pm, something of a protective streak being brought out in him after I confided all the latest news earlier today.

After been seen safely into Peter's big shiny deep blue Cherokee Jeep we head off in the direction of Number Thirteen, a pretty decent restaurant just outside of Shreveport. I decided to make it close to my end destination tonight just so Peter wouldn't have to drive all the way back over to Bon Temps to take me home. He's only got a fifteen minute journey out of his way to drop me off at Fangtasia rather than a half hour one back to my house.

"I have to confess this is an excellent choice my queen. I took my wife here on the opening night for our anniversary and we both enjoyed it very much" he tells me as he parks up on the lot at the front of the restaurant.

"Thanks Peter, my friend Anna and I discovered it about a month after it had opened, they do a wonderful swordfish dish I think I might just have to order again tonight" I reply as Peter gets out of the car and races around the front to open the door for me. How gentlemanly. We enter the restaurant to be told by the host that the rest of the Boden party are already seated and then swiftly escorted to our table where both Lance and Cobie are waiting; bowing their heads briefly as they stand and I give them a little nod. The host seats us and gives us the menus before a hovering waitress then breezes in to take our drinks orders. Red wine all round bar Cobie who has a Coke since he isn't old enough to drink.

"Good evening your majesty" Lance greets me with respectfully.

"Hi Tyra, how are you? Thanks for taking us somewhere so fancy, wow!" Cobie then chimes in with, receiving an elbow in the ribs and a look of warning from Lance.

"What? She did say she didn't want to be addressed as your majesty and to just call her by her Christian name!" he says to Lance in defence, and Peter who is shaking his head in despair.

'It's not respectful boy!' Lance hisses in an annoyed whisper.

"It is if it's her majesty's wish. All I'm doing is what she wanted me to do" he replies glumly, looking embarrassed for being scolded by his elder.

"Lance he's right. I honestly would like to insist on you calling me Tyra. Your majesty really is too much. My queen I can just about handle, but Tyra is what I really would prefer" I state to him just as the waitress brings over our wine and pours a little into Peter's glass for him to sample the bouquet. He passes the glass straight to me though. Jesus, I really am finding it difficult to deal with such a level of respect shown to me by them. Something I don't even feel like I've earned.

"Beautiful, pour away" I tell the waitress after having a good sniff and a quick sip of the Merlot she is now pouring into each glass.

"As you wish your...erm, I mean Tyra" Lance replies before taking a sip of his wine.

"It might take a while for us to get used to, so please forgive us any slip ups. You see the thing is, our respect for you is ingrained into us, and it is not something we can choose to have or not have. Our inner nature senses your kind instantly, no matter how long you were extinct for" Peter explains to me in hushed tones. We keep our conversation quiet because of course, we are supernatural creatures not known to the public.

"I understand that, but to make me feel more comfortable with the situation I really must insist upon you addressing me by my name. But anyway enough of this, I want to hear about you three. Tell me of your lives, you first" I reply, addressing Cobie right at the end of my sentence and watching him look proud to be asked. I learn he has just turned eighteen, finished high school and then could not attend college because of his parents' very meagre salaries, and is presently working at an auto repair garage that is owned by Lance. I discover an interesting common ground almost right away, and that is we are both total math geeks.

"He comes in a half hour early every morning so he can sit and do the Sudoku puzzles over his morning coffee!" Lance interjects with, giving Cobie's hair a ruffle as the teenager looks embarrassed again.

"So what did you want to do at college if you could have attended?" I ask him.

"Accountancy, I wanted to be a bookkeeper like you are. I like sums, I like it when things add up, and I love the fact that wherever you go, math is the same in every country of the world" he replies, striking a big chord inside me. I've often used that very saying to explain why I love math so much.

"I'll bear that in mind should my own team of one gets any more busy than she already is. Definitely" I reply with a nod, Cobie positively glowing with the smile all over his face. He talks a little more about himself, revealing more information I sort and store up in my head before we move on and I learn about Lance. Twenty nine years old and just a few months older than me (I'll turn twenty nine on December 20th), and obviously an auto mechanic from what Cobie just revealed to me. His passion has always been cars, and I really do admire people who make their passion their profession too.

I also learn he's father to a six year old little girl called Annis but he and her mother parted ways just after her fifth birthday and is currently single and 'very happy to be too' as he words it. Then after a little more information that leads to all of us all digressing and falling into conversation about other things, we move back to my getting to know you goal and discuss the life of Peter over our entrée's. I chose the garlic snails, oh how Eric will hate me until I've brushed my teeth. Garlic isn't repellent to vampires in a weakening sense at all, it's just because it is a very strong smell and they do not like things that carry such an odorous scent.

I learn that Peter is a construction worker, and small world that it is actually knows my good friend Dmitri when their paths have crossed on various jobs before. They aren't employed by the same company, but they've met before when working on jobs. I also discover that he is a twice divorced but now happily married father of three children with his third wife Lisa, and also has been packmaster of the Louisiana territory for the last twenty five years.

After learning these details plus a little more we have our glasses refilled by the waitress before she takes our entrée plates away we move on to discuss what Peter and I spoke about earlier today. And the two other weres agree totally with our plan.

"The way I look at it is thus, if we're keeping your existence on the down low then Peter is right. Involving you in your official capacity really is not needed unless of course a grave crime has been committed. Our goal first and foremost in all of this, you being revealed to us three is to protect you as Eric wishes. We do not want to infringe upon your life more than we need you my queen. I mean, Tyra" he replies earnestly.

"I agree. I really don't want it to look like I want to turn my back on whom and what I am, but being the only one of my kind I cannot step up and take responsibility for all of you. It's too dangerous. So they way I see it is that things should carry on as normal. Peter is your packmaster and you answer to him, not me. Unless you're very, very bad" I reply, joking at the end.

"And then we all close our eyes and quiver in fear of the orange eyed stare" Cobie chirps up, making me burst out laughing and the other two look at him sternly.

"He's fine, he's great in fact" I reassure them, covering Cobie's hand with mine and squeezing it reassuringly while giving him a big smile. I like that he isn't guarded around me like the other two are. I like his bluntness, the fact he doesn't treat me like I'm sitting on some kind of pedestal to be worshipped upon. A definite soft spot is starting to grow in me for this lovely young man already. He's such a sweetheart. For the rest of the evening we all engage in pleasant banter, and I also include the story of how I came to find out what I was in a lot finer detail, since I was concise for the benefit of the vampires at the meeting.

All three play the part of a captive audience as I speak, which is good since the wait on our desserts does take a while after the mains have been delivered and eaten. By the end of the night I honestly do feel like I've known the three werewolves for much longer than I have too. Eric makes very wise choices with who he trusts, and I just cannot fault his judgement over the weres he has placed his trust in here. Speaking of Eric...

"What on earth have you been eating?" he says with a hell of a lot of displeasure as soon as I enter the apartment after Peter has dropped me off.

"Garlic snails, swordfish with lemongrass and a slice of cheesecake, and don't worry I'm en route to brush my teeth" I reply while heading over to the bathroom to do just that and also gargle twice with Listerine afterwards.

"You smelly woman" he tells me once I'm done and have joined him on the couch where he's sat quietly sketching. You probably wouldn't believe it, but Eric is quite the artist. It's one of few pastimes that he really does enjoy yet never speak of to anyone apart from me.

"Not anymore I'm not" I reply as I lean over and give him a kiss, and then look down at what he's drawing, which is a fine pencil sketch of one of the heavily melted candles on the side of an old writing desk shining away through the dimmed light. Only a few candles dotted around here and there and the fire light the room.

"Very nice" I compliment him.

"Thank you, I can finish it at a later date though. Come here" he says, putting paper and pencil down on the table before opening an arm to me. I turn around and then lie back with my head in his lap, looking up at him with a content smile. He returns a similar expression, before one corner of his mouth twitches up slightly higher than the other and his hand slips inside my dress and then my bra.

"You're going to have to give me at least an hour before you dive on me handsome, I'm so full right now I can barely move. Or feel comfortable having anything in my mouth" I tell him, watching him laugh quietly, giving me a flash of perfect teeth.

"Point taken, I'll settle for you coming and lying in the bath with me though. You can tell me about your evening" he replies. I agree that it's a very good idea indeed, and within ten minutes we're lying in the hot water while I tell him about my night with the weres; Peter, Lance and Cobie.

"And was Peter on time to collect you this morning?" Eric asks me after I've told him of the evening.

"Yes he was, 9am bright and early and he had me at my first clients ten minutes after that. He's efficient with his time keeping" I reply, resting my head a little further back against his chest as I feel him finger comb my hair. It's very relaxing.

"How are you getting on with catching up with your work?" he then asks me.

"Fine I think, I'm only a few days behind now. Tomorrow I plan to stay right here and just work on through if I wake before you do. I should get all caught up by then" I reply, reaching for my bar of seaweed soap. Eric likes the smell but doesn't trust it on account of the fact its bright blue. He doesn't consider it right for soap to be such 'a psychedelic shade' as he worded it. He's funny like that.

"That'll be good, for you to be all up to date before you go away" he then commence with much nonchalance.

"Where am I going exactly?" I ask him as I lather up my leg.

"To Norway with me to visit Agnes, then Sweden as we planned" he replies.

"Eric, I can't take that time off again. You should have discussed this with me before you arranged anything, I don't want to let Agnes down for a second time" I reply, a touch pissed off he did this without consulting me but also a little excited at the thought. How the hell do I put off work though?

"Yes you can. When you were talking to a certain were tonight he might have eluded to the fact that math was something he was gifted with, and accountancy an occupation he wanted to take up? Give him a few days with you; he's a bright enough kid he'll pick it up. Then you can leave him the reins when you leave with me on Friday" he replies, like it's all so simple.

"That's four days away!" I protest.

"Everything is arranged. All you have to do is pack, leave Cobie his duties and ask Lafayette to feed the cat. You need a break, it's decided" he replies firmly but with a smile. I guess that's that then. Norway here I come.

**Authors note - I'm absolutely overwhelmed at how well received this story has been! Honestly, I am! And I thank you ALL so much for your reads, reviews and advice! You're all too kind :) xx**


	40. Chapter 40

Eric's POV.

"Well I have to say I'm impressed. You've managed to drive us much further than I expected you would have. Did you cope okay with the roads?" I ask Tyra just after climbing out of my travel casket in the back of the rented 4x4 we hired. We're in Norway, and have just pulled up at a service station about 200 miles and nine hours away from Nordland, Tyra having impressively driven for the last eight hours since the sunrise meant I had to take shelter. I only drove for two hours after leaving the airport, and did worry slightly that she'd fall into difficulties driving on icy roads since it's something she isn't used to.

"Yeah I was fine, I had a bit of a skid just changing from one highway to another about thirty miles back but I've been doing what you told me to and keeping it in a low gear and not going too fast. But other than that the roads have been pretty good. It's only worse now because we're much further north I guess" she replies as she shudders.

"Go and fetch yourself a coffee to warm up while I put some more gas in the car" I tell her, giving her a kiss before she heads off to the small store. We did hope to get a connecting flight straight up to Nordland, but we were looking at a twelve hour wait which we figured if we drove up instead we'd be halfway there instead of having to wait for the flight. So that's just what we did, and now since the darkness has descended I can at least drive the extra 200 miles to get us up to the coast before Tyra has to switch back again when the sun comes up. Then we have a ferry journey of an hour before we dock in Nordland, where we are being met by one of Agnes' werewolf consorts Ralph Arnesen, who will escort us to her castle palace a further seventy miles north.

The part of Nordland it is located in is very remote, and a satellite navigation machine will not be able to establish a signal to guide us there alone. So he will drive down to meet us there so Tyra has someone to follow back rather than having to map read and negotiate frozen winding roads as well. So after paying for the fuel and letting Tyra walk around and stretch her legs for a little while off we go again.

"I'm so impressed with myself for being able to drive not only a stick shift, but drive it through so much snow too" she says just after I've pulled the huge silver Land Rover back out onto the E6, the main highway that leads through Norway up to the coast where the ferry will dock.

"I'm impressed with you too, since it's been a few years since you've driven in perilous conditions" I reply. When she visited our home country of Sweden a good few years back with her friend Anna, and I remember her telling me how she'd mastered the art of driving through heavy snow by the time they were set to leave again.

"Like riding a bike" she replies before sipping her coffee and then securing it back in the cup holder and turning up the heat a little more on the air conditioning. Pretty soon after as I predicted, her nodding head finally nods no more as it thuds softly against the window and she falls asleep. I half expected her to really, since eight hours of driving must be quite tiring when you take into account she probably only stopped a small number of times too.

Still, I feel a little disappointed that I won't have her to talk to as I drive through this cold October night, noticing a few flecks of snow beginning to fall the further north we travel. Three hours into the drive and it's an absolute blizzard. So I decide to pull off the E6 and head to the nearest large city, park up and scan through the browser on my cell phone to locate the nearest vampire friendly hotel with vacancies. Since Norway is extremely hospitable towards my kind it doesn't take long to locate one within a twenty minute driving distance too. Which is good since when I do pull off again the snow is so heavy I can barely navigate where I'm going.

"Hmmm? Are we at the dock? Shit, how long did I sleep for?" A dozy Tyra asks me after I've gently shook her arm to wake her up.

"No darling not yet, I had to stop because of the snow. The E6 is absolutely awful so we'll be delayed a little because of the weather. I'll call Agnes as soon as we've checked in at this hotel" I reply.

"Yeah, good idea" she replies after she's rubbed her unmade up eyes and looked out at the heavily falling snow. Moving at rapid speed I exit the car and take our luggage off the roof (it won't fit inside what with my travel casket occupying all the room) and drop it with a waiting bellboy before opening Tyra's door for her and escorting her safely inside out of the blizzard so we can check in and get up to our room.

While Tyra orders herself some room service food and warms up by the open fire (a nice touch I thought, since vampires are often partial to a fireplace) I call Agnes and explain we will be delayed for the evening because of the driving conditions, and will call her when we are about to board the ferry to Nordland so she can send Ralph ready to meet us at the other side. She understands completely and tells me she is very much looking forward to seeing us before our call is done, and I switch my cell off and go and sit with Tyra until her food arrives, when I head off away from the noxious smell of lasagne and fries and seclude myself in the bathroom, taking a long, hot bath.

"Oh when you're done, I'll be waiting for you out there minus these" she tells me after coming in to clean her teeth, gesturing to her clothing. I think that's the best incentive I've ever heard to make me leave a bathtub, and so after getting out and drying off at speed I do not bother dressing and walk out of the bathroom naked to see her in the exact same state, lying on her back in front of the fire. As soon as I see her, within a second I'm on top of her. I wrap my arms around her and kiss her passionately as I feel her fingers travel through my hair, hearing a lust filled moan deep in her throat as her fingernails trail down my neck and my back, making me shudder pleasantly. Her hands then move around and push between our bodies, one stroking my stomach muscles while the other wraps around the enormous erection just the sight of her nakedness caused.

"Mmmmm, the hardest substance known to man isn't diamonds. It's Eric Northman's cock" she whispers in my ear with a little hint of a giggle.

"Who am I to argue with that notion?" I reply, gently biting her bottom lip before kissing her again, my tongue pushing into her mouth and swirling with hers while my hands massage her beautiful breasts. Her energy feels incredible right now, as it always does when she's aroused. It's the most erotic thing I've ever experienced, and it grows stronger and stronger as my mouth devours her body and my hands run up and down her legs, eventually in between. My fingers enter her and are immediately bathed in satin wetness, her soft moan filling the air as my tongue circles her navel. I know exactly where she wants my tongue right now too, but I plan to make my time with getting it there...

Tyra's POV.

This feels so good that I almost want to tell him to stop. The feeling of his mouth now moved to my hipbone, tongue flickering over it coupled with little scratches from his fangs make my body judder pleasantly, that aroused tug deep in my stomach starting to feel sharper. Sharper still when his fingers press into me harder, stroking a delightful response from every sensitive nerve ending inside of me.

His mouth then moves to kiss the dip between my hip and thigh before slowly, very slowly working its way to the side and finally for a flicker of a second letting me feel his tongue on my clit. It then travels up to my other thigh while his fingers push deeper inside me still, making me moan repeatedly. Those moans become more breathless exclamations when I finally feel the tip of his tongue where I want it most, slowly moving back and forth over the hardened little cluster of nerves. My moans come out with each breath as I feel it explore me, running over my labia, dipping inside me and in general thoroughly devouring me with quick, firm licks. He turns me on so much I can barely stand it.

My whole body is paralysed by pleasure, the only part of me moving being my hips and stomach, which gently quake in response to his fingers running over them softly. For a man as huge in size and strong as he is, he's remarkably gentle. Well, when he wants to be I should say. For before I know it, literally within the blink of an eye he replaces his tongue with his cock and holds my legs up high and wide. He then proceeds to fuck the living daylights out of me, moving at a pace so hard and fast I can feel my back being friction burned against the rug beneath me. He's always like this when he's been denied sex, and because I've had my period for the last four days of course he's had to abstain. Contrary to what you might think, a menstruating woman is no turn on for a vampire. Quite the opposite in fact because it is dead blood and womb tissue after all, which isn't particularly appealing to anyone if you ask me.

So yes, right now he's fucking me like a jackhammer possessed. He loves sex, so every month after my annoying bleeding is finished he barely lets me rest because he's so wound up for it. I keep him pacified with blow jobs, but it's not the same I guess. Not like this. Not burning hot passion administered by a burning hot body for a change, since he's right next to an open fire and his skin is currently very hot to the touch. Mine breaks out in a light perspiration, skin juddering under where his tongue trails, bending to kiss and lick my breasts while still thundering into me hard and fast. His hands hold my hips firmly, giving me no escape from each long, hard thrust. He groans in my ear before I feel him kiss the side of my neck, his hands running through my hair and down my back before wrapping around me tightly.

He holds me to him firmly for a second, before suddenly I feel myself let go of and my body gently thud against the floor. I look up to see Eric right over by the window, and instantly wonder what prompted him to just stop like that and put that much distance between us. And then I begin to feel it, feel it in his blood that runs through me. Something scared him, and I know what too.

"Eric" I begin after getting up and walking to him, placing my hands on his shoulders.

"Go back over there, just leave me alone for a moment" he replies sharply, almost recoiling from my touch.

"It was too hard for a second wasn't it? For you not to drink my blood" I tell him, standing steadfast. Now is the time, I see that so clearly. Now is the time to tell him what I've wanted to tell him since he took me to the chateau and presented me with the beautiful ring.

"Yes, and it still is so you need to go away" he replies, still sounding tense.

"No" I tell him, turning him around to face me. "Not when I want to give you what you want" I then continue, putting my arms around him while he looks at me curiously for some time before he speaks while nodding slowly.

"You really want this?" he asks me eventually.

"Yes, and you should already know that. You can feel it, can't you?" I ask him, taking his hands and leading him over to the bed as I walk backwards. My eyes never leave his, and I begin to sense something else from within him as I stare into them. I feel from him the need to hear me tell him what it is that I want, so he knows I am sure. So he knows he's sure too.

"This is exactly what I want. You're exactly what I want. Come here" I tell him, sitting down on the bed and pulling my hair over my shoulder to expose my neck to him. I lie back on the bed and wrap my arms around him, his mouth pressing to lips just as his body covers mine totally. I then feel one of his hands move to the back of my head, gently stroking my hair with his fingertips. The other hand then comes around to copy that action on my cheek while he just stares at me intently, a small smile starting to upturn the corners of his mouth more and more as the moments pass.

"Completely sure?" he asks me in little more than a whisper.

"Yes Eric, completely sure" I reply, stroking my fingertips down his cheeks and moving closer to kiss him. This has been on my mind for a lot longer than he realizes. It's only been since he told me how he felt and gave me the beautiful ring upon my finger that I've realized just how much I really do want this, to be bonded with him. I couldn't explain, or pinpoint one specific or sole reason for it either. Other than the fact it just feels so, so right. My heart begins to somersault in my chest in anticipation as I feel his mouth leave mine, his lips planting a trail of kisses that lead from mine, across my cheek and down my neck. A moment's hesitation, and then I feel it. I feel the sharp pain of his fangs puncturing my neck, and for the first time in months not letting go, a gentle pulling feeling at my skin as he begins to feed from me.

At first, nothing at all feels different. He feeds from me, licking his lips clean and seals the wound in my neck before kissing the spot his fangs gouged into. Then I feel something start to creep over me slowly, a feeling of relaxation and contentment unlike anything I've felt before. It isn't overwhelming, not even immense on any level. It's just...beautiful. When I look over at Eric is when I feel suddenly startled though, because I've never seen him look at me like that before. I've never seen him smile at me like that before either.

"You look about as happy as I feel" I whisper to him as he lies on his side next to me, pulling me close to him.

"Hmmm" is all he replies contently, smiling a touch wider and then resting his head against mine and looking intently at me for a few moments, before we just shut our eyes and lie there stroking each other's skin. Both basking in the gentle afterglow of the process of being bonded, probably more content than either of us believed we ever would be again. Him because he never thought he could allow another woman to be as close to him as his wife Ida was. And me because I never thought I'd find someone as close to me as he is. Both my family and my lover without it being wrong because of the connection, the security I feel from him something I always thought I'd be without. I really am not alone anymore, and I never will be again because now I'll never be without him.

I feel safe, secure, in love and very, very happy right now. Yet for a long, long time neither of us voice what we're feeling. I know exactly what he's feeling right now too, because the bond has strengthened the blood connection between us so strongly that I don't even have to ask him. I can just feel it, feel the contentment and happiness within him within me too. I feel so whole right now, so very connected to him too. Also, I feel something else too, a certain need to be engaging in what we were enjoying, before we were enjoying this.

Pushing against his chest I turn him onto his back, kneeling astride him and stroking his gorgeous muscular torso as I lean down and kiss him slowly. One hand then slides down over his stomach and wraps around his cock, the erectness only having waned slightly and not taking much more than a few massages from base to head before its completely hard. I then gently pull his foreskin back a little and hold the big head between my thumb and forefinger before pushing the very tip of his hardness against my clit, and rubbing it back and forth. It feels fantastically pleasurable, my arousal trebling when I lean down again and begin to kiss and bite the side of his neck, and hear him growl deep in his throat with want. That animalistic rumble, coupled with the feeling of red hot pleasure as I rub his cock against me makes me ache for him inside me. So that's exactly where I guide him, sitting up and back a little so slide down onto his erection slowly as I graze my nails down his chest, and begin to move my hips back and forth as I slide up and down on him.

"Feel free to do that for as long as you like. Just as long as I can pull you down to do this from time to time" he tells me, his hands running from my waist around my back to pull my body close to his mouth and bite one of my nipples. "That's the sexiest view in the whole world, especially now" he adds, his eyes watching a thin blood run under my breast and down my torso from where he just bit me. He then leans forward again and licks the blood away, not able to sit up for much longer when I put my hand around his throat and push him back down to the bed.

"Down boy" I tell him playfully, watching him frown at me as the corner of his mouth twitches into a smile and then hearing him groan deeply as I slam myself down on his cock so hard it hurts me. An action I keep on repeating for as long as I like too as he instructed me, so long I couldn't possibly tell you how long I've spent riding him to oblivion and back. By the time I'm done though I've lost count of the amount of times I've hit orgasm, but know I've managed to get him there twice. He isn't done though, oh no. Far from it in fact since after my shuddering body has literally ground itself to a halt he moves from underneath me and pushes me down until I'm lying flat and face first into the bed, his hands pushing my legs further apart before I feel him penetrate me again. This leads to a further hour of me being thrown around the bed, right up until 2am when I reluctantly have to tell him I need a rest.

"I have a long drive ahead of me, and I did want to get off quite soon after daylight breaks" I tell him, curled up under the covers next to him. I'm going to stink of sweat and sex by the time I get up again, but right now I'm just too exhausted to even think of standing in a shower, let alone doing it.

"You sleep for as long as you want to, besides it's still coming down heavily out there and if it's too deep for you to feel comfortable driving in it then we'll just stay here. Don't worry though because Agnes will more than understand" he replies, while pointing to the window. I turn over to look and see huge snowflakes still cascading from the sky, and then turn back to look at him.

"We'll see in a few hours then" I tell him, kissing his chest. That's the last thing I remember doing too before my head feels fuzzy and I drift off into dreamless slumber that lasts right through until 9am the next morning. When I do open my eyes though I think I'm dreaming straight away, for the first thing I see as I sit up is Eric illuminated by natural light for the first time ever. He's not burning either. What the hell?

"Eric, how...why...the sunlight' I speak, trying to form a sentence through my half asleep and confused state.

"There's a little leaflet on the nightstand that explains all" he tells me casually.

"I'm not awake enough to read" I grumble, sliding out of bed and rubbing my eyes, walking over and sitting on his lap. Immediately I have my nakedness stroked idly as soon as I'm there.

"Shadow glass" he begins, reaching behind him and tapping a knuckle off the grey tinted window. "The newest technology formed by Scandinavian scientists, the glass allows light in to illuminate the room without actually letting in actual light rays that are of course lethal to us. Very clever isn't it?"

"I'll say" I reply, quite frankly amazed. Amazed at the advancements in technology to allow for this, and also amazed at how different Eric looks in the light. Well okay not really, really different, but this new illuminated view I have of him does show one thing. How young he looks, and it is here that I have to remind myself he was only twenty nine when he was made, just a year older than I am now. It really is surprising just how much younger the light makes him look, more handsome too. Or is it just because we are now bonded and because of that connection he just looks even more handsome to me than he already did?

Who knows and who cares? Light or dark, he's staggeringly good looking to me. After basking in his attention for a while I leave him to carry on reading the local paper (he must have asked for it to be sent up while I was still asleep) and head for a shower, and then leave him be while I go downstairs and get some food and coffee into me before quickly heading outside to look at the snow.

"Sorry, I don't speak Norwegian" I say quickly as one of the bell boys begins to chatter to me at the front of the hotel after I've stuck my head outside to check the weather.

"Oh, sorry for that Miss, I was just commenting that the weather forecast said it'd be like this for much of the day until the temperature drops again tonight" he replies cheerfully in perfect English. Right now there are only a few wisps of snow floating around in the air.

"Hmmmm, I have an eight hour drive ahead of me too. So I think that perhaps now is the best time to leave taking what you just told me into consideration" I reply.

"Where are you heading to?" he asks me.

"Nordland"

"Two words of advice. Get moving!" he replies, chuckling softly. With that I agree, and ask him if he can assist in moving a casket back down to the car in about ten minutes, to which he assures me he will before I head back upstairs and inform Eric of my decision. After he's agreed and we've collected our belongings together he gets himself into his casket and before I know it we've checked out and I'm back on the highway again, my foot to the floor as much as I dare in these bad conditions. I turn the radio on for a little company, but after flicking through the stations I find nothing that I particularly want to listen to, so sit in silence instead.

It's then that I realize I really need no company, for inside I can feel this lovely swell of warm energy, of feeling Eric there right behind me in his travel casket a lot more strongly than I did yesterday. I suppose that's the bond working its magic though. I guess I have the bad weather to thank for it happening when it did too. Not so perfect driving conditions lead to one hell of a perfect night between a vampire and his lover, becoming closer than either of us thought we could ever become to each other. Yeah, pass the puke bucket. That was so sweet that I even made myself feel sick there too!

**Authors note - I'm absolutely overwhelmed at how well received this story has been! Honestly, I am! And I thank you ALL so much for your reads, reviews and advice! You're all too kind :) xx**


	41. Chapter 41

Eric's POV.

Although I'm inside a totally darkened casket right now, my vampiric senses alert me to the fact that the sun has just gone down. As they always have and always will. Then so predictably like clockwork about fifteen minutes later I feel the car slowing down and pulling off the E6 highway, Tyra obviously having found somewhere convenient to stop to let me out. Illuminating the screen on my cell after I've pulled it from my pocket I see it has just turned 5.15pm, meaning Tyra has been driving for the last seven hours. We should be somewhere close to the docks by now, or least only about an hour or so away.

"Good evening beautiful" I tell her as soon as I've exited the casket and got out of the car properly, pulling her trembling form close to me as she fills the car with gas. Even in all her winter clothes comprising of a thick jacket, wool sweater, jeans and those god awful knitted boots women insist on wearing in winter (Uggs are they called?) and a huge scarf wrapped around her neck she's still shivering.

"Evening handsome, how was your rest?" she asks me, stroking my hair with the hand not holding the gas pump to the inlet on the 4X4.

"Pleasant, thank you" I reply. "So we're not too far from the coast then?" I ask her, my sharp senses allowing me to be able to smell the sea salt lingering in the air.

"About an hour away, so I called Agnes to let her know we're close and that I'll call her again when we board the ferry" she replies. I nod and leave her to it, noting the number of the pump and going to pay for the gas. I fetch her a coffee while I'm there, and make her laugh by holding it as far away from myself as I can as I bring it back and then pass it to her as I get into the driver's seat. Before pulling away I spend a few moments just looking at her, eventually making her feel uncomfortable enough for her to voice it.

"Why are you staring at me?" she asks, tucking a few strands of hair not pulled back with the rest into a ponytail behind her ear.

"Because you look very beautiful this evening, that's why. Even though I like how you wear it, I do like to see you without your makeup on" I reply, while she smiles and shakes her head.

"Well as long as you think so, I think I look paler than a sheet of blank paper personally" she replies as I start the engine.

"Indeed you do, and I like it" I reply before pulling out of the gas station and onto the highway once more, resting my hand on her thigh once I've sped the car up to its fifth gear and let it cruise in the centre lane. For the whole journey I cannot help but to keep on stealing little glances at her, wondering if this is something because of the bond we finally entered last night. She just looks so much more beautiful to my eyes today, and because of that has a certain effect on other parts of my body too. One in particular, that begins hardening against my leg uncomfortably as I continue to drive. Thankfully by the time we reach the ferry it's gone down though, but the thoughts that lead to it hardening in the first place haven't.

"What the hell has gotten into you?" Tyra asks me as I walk along behind her on the boarding deck where we've parked up, my hands all over her ass.

"You" is all I reply, controlling myself and my rather public fondling of her when we head up the stairs and onto the passenger deck of the ferry, my eyes darting about as I look for a darkened corner to drag her to. Since the crossing is only for an hour there are no cabins on the ferry, and right now I really do not think I can wait until we get to the privacy of Agnes' castle to show her just what she's stirring up within me. The restroom will have to do, but I hold back for long enough to actually let my lady get a drink before I practically drag her off by her hair at speed.

"If I hadn't have got you in here quickly, I'd have fucked you in front of all those other passengers believe me" I tell her before my mouth crashes to hers in a heated kiss.

"I'd have let you too" she replies, pulling away from our kiss to remove me of my shirt, while my hands impatiently yank her jeans down, our mouths reconnecting as my hand pushes between her legs and I use two fingers to penetrate her roughly, impatiently. She groans into my mouth and bites my tongue as her hands free my hardness from the confides of my jeans, pushing me back against the wall and sinking down to wrap her mouth around my cock. Not for long though, eventually grabbing her roughly around the top of her arms and hauling her back up, kissing her as her hands go to where her mouth just was. Our hands paw at each other impatiently as continue to battle each other for supremacy while also trying to remain quiet. Wanting nothing more than sex right at this instant I push her back over to where the sink is, bend her over it and smack her ass hard before I thrust into her.

The moan she lets out is muted by my hand covering her mouth, but I make it no easier for her to remain quiet as I fuck her hard and fast, my other hand resting at her hip as I plunge into her over and over with force. It's hard to remain quiet, with how hot, tight and wet she is around me, inner muscles furiously contracting around my length, but it does add to the arousal, having to keep quiet or risk getting arrested for public indecency when we dock in Nordland.

"Mmmmmm fuck me harder, ahhhhh" she moans to me in a whisper. Her wish is my command, so I do, feeling my arousal grow and grow, until surprisingly I feel myself starting to reach the point of no return, and tip over the edge and into total pleasurable oblivion as more or less the same time as she does. That's really quite notable; the last time it took me five minutes to reach orgasm I was human. It is a good job it was over quickly really since we find there's someone waiting to use the restroom after we've dressed and opened the door. I utter a few words to him in Norwegian, and after looking at Tyra and winking he utters a few back and laughs, giving me a slap on the back I do not approve of but let him get away with for being so good natured.

"What did you just say to him?" Tyra asks me after I've brought her another drink at the bar and we've sat down in the lounge.

"You saw that questioning look he gave when we walked out, so I just said to him if he had a woman as sexy as you were, would he be able to wait until the ferry docked to have sex with her. He replied with 'no, I absolutely wouldn't'. So there you go, you're definitely very beautiful with no makeup on" I reply, laughing a little when she splutters her mouthful of gin and tonic and starts to laugh into the glass.

"After that I think I'm inclined to agree. I enjoy it when you have to prove yourself right using sex, feel free to do it again any time you want to prove a point in the future too" she replies with a wink.

"Oh don't you worry, I will" I reply, returning the wink. The way she looks at me after that, well, let's just say I feel like hauling her back into the restroom again for round two. I must remember to ask Agnes if a blood bond with a Wolverina means you can't go ten minutes without wanting to have sex with her. This is definitely because of the bond; of course she was able to arouse me with just one lust filled look before it happened. Now though, the difference is it takes me everything I have to control myself from diving on her.

A heightened sexual connection to her isn't all I feel though. As iterated to be by Agnes, I feel so much more content now. I suppose you're expecting me to say something along the lines of 'now I'm bonded with Tyra, I almost feel human again', but I won't because I don't. I feel like my usual vampire self, just a few notches happier within. It isn't something that changes my outward demeanour, but I'm content to feel it within. It'll be interesting to discover what else is different too, and also to see if I can make it the forty minutes we have left without taking her into the restroom again. Turns out I can't...

Tyra's POV.

'You've got no idea how much I want to jump out of my seat and right onto you right now. Damn' I tell Eric while we're waiting in the car for the others parked ahead of us to move off the ferry ramp and onto dry land.

'Yes I do, I can feel it so strongly I'm currently having to sit here thinking of a list of extremely un-arousing things to stop me from doing quite the same' he replies, looking a bit tense. I then let myself pick up on what he's feeling and smile. He really, really wants me right now. Feeling what he feels is not a constant thing; it's more something I pick up on if I choose to. The bond hasn't changed that, except that I can feel what he feels more strongly when I do pick up on his emotions. The same applies to what he feels from me too. Meaning right now as you can imagine we don't need to voice anything further on the subject. What we can feel is enough to try and suppress without adding more words to it.

Accessing my cell I open the message Agnes sent me, informing me that Ralph Arnesen will meet us by the side of the road that leads off the dock and will be driving a black Mercedes 4x4. It is with that in mind that I remind myself that I'm perfectly capable of restraining myself until the morning (or at least until we're alone for a period of time), and that what I'd currently like to do to Eric cannot be done in a Land Rover. Or rather, what I'd like him to do to me cannot be. We find that he is already there waiting for us when we pull up behind the vehicle he gets out of, heading over to my window as Eric brings the car to a stop.

"Good evening my queen, welcome" he says in a very heavy Norwegian accent as he bows his head. I nod before replying.

"Thank you" I reply politely. He then gives Eric a small nod; obviously sensing he isn't particularly friendly to those he doesn't know (which he isn't) and so not extending anything further to him.

"The roads have been cleared, and by the time the heavy snow falls again we should be up at the castle. I'll waste no more time talking to you here, follow me' he replies before jogging back to his car and driving off with us following along behind him on the quiet road. To try and dampen the uncomfortably hot flame of my libido I take my book from my large purse along with my house keys. One of the key rings they hang off has a mini maglite on it which is perfect to use to give myself enough light to read without being a distraction to Eric as he drives. I become engrossed and only realize we've been driving for forty minutes already when my other half taps me on the leg and distracts me.

"Look in the wing mirror, you might just be able to make them out in the distance on the road behind us" he tells me, making me shut off the light and put my book face down on my lap before curiously looking out of the window at the mirror. I strain my eyes, yet cannot make anything out. Better than most my vision may be, but it's nowhere near as sharp as Eric's.

"I give in, what's back there?" I ask him eventually.

"Wolves, they've been running along the road after us for about two miles now. Just as we started to come through this forest in fact, they must have sensed you as soon as you entered their lair" he replies. All around presently is deep, dense forest. Snow capped trees in every direction you look. The road begins to get steeper about a mile on, and because of the frozen snow it means our speed is reduced. Enough for me to keep looking in the wing mirror until I see them enter the horizon behind us, all running along at an exerted yet gentle pace. It fills me with a sense of extreme pride and humbleness, that 'my' wolves have sensed me and are now running along after me. If I thought that was something though, I really haven't seen anything yet.

"Goddamnit, she made this place out to be a lot less up scale than it actually is. Jesus" I exclaim with wonder as Agnes' palace comes into view. "It's more of a small castle really" is how she described it to me. A small castle; what the hell was she comparing it to exactly, Buckingham palace? As it comes into view more clearly on our ascent up the steep road that leads to it, I see it just keeps on going too. It's absolutely huge.

"Agnes can be remarkably humble over her home and assets" Eric notes before something in the rear view mirror catches his eye. He doesn't ever look shocked at things, but what he sees makes his eyes widen enough for me to notice.

"You really need to turn around and look behind us"

So I do, and just cannot believe my eyes. I'd estimate the last time I turned around I saw about ten wolves following us. Now that number has increased drastically to about fifty or more of them. All here for me, which is perhaps the most touching thing I've ever experienced. Actually no, I take that back. When we pull up outside the castle and I get out of the car realizing there's about seventy of them is when I feel touched the most. Especially when as soon as I look in their direction they all lie down obediently straight away, receiving a nod from me straight away as I crouch down and greet those who come running to me. I know I won't possibly be able to greet them all, but the ones around me right now all receive hearty scratches from my long nails as we get acquainted.

"Amazing, the love they have for their queen" I hear a familiar female voice say, and turn to see Agnes has appeared next to our car, her arms outstretched towards me.

"Agnes, hello" I say warmly, stopping my fussing of the wolves and turning to embrace her.

"Hello my child, how thrilled I am to welcome you to my home, and how thrilled your wolves are to see you" she replies.

"I'm thrilled to be here" I respond watching as she clicks her fingers and then seeing two men (human) come dashing down from the castle steps.

"Take my guests luggage up to their room immediately, Thomas schedule cook be on standby to prepare Tyra a dinner for whenever she wants to eat. Now" she orders them, sternly but not harshly.

"At once your majesty" they both reply before beginning to unload the car while Agnes and Ralph escort us inside. Believe me, if my jaw was dropping at seeing the castle from the outside, it near swings right off its hinge when we enter. Let's just say you could fit my house into the welcoming hall about ten times, and then ten times again upwards as I look up at the ceiling at least forty feet up. All the walls are painted a midnight blue colour between the original plaster coving and matching brilliant white pillars, the ceiling adorned with colossal chandeliers that twinkle beautifully. The floors look to be some sort of very expensive marble until I look more closely to see they are highly, highly buffed solid wood.

One of Agnes' staff (of which there seem to be plenty of hovering around, both human and vampire) comes forward efficiently to take the coats of Eric, Ralph and myself before bustling away again after giving Agnes a respectful nod before she vanishes at speed.

"Ralph if you would like to take care of Eric while I give Tyra the grand tour it would be appreciated my friend" she then says to the werewolf who navigated us up here from the dock. He nods and ushers Eric off along the hallway while Agnes turns to me, smiles warmly and then takes my arm gently.

"You might want to remove your shoes, I apologise for being fussy but some of the rugs I have are older than your vampire so I must insist no outside dirt is walked into them" she tells me, while I quickly slip off my shoes and hear her click her fingers again, the same vampiric maid coming back once more and moving them over towards the front doors where I can make out a lot more pairs of shoes stacked on a big rack. With that done, off we go. Or rather Agnes shows me about ten rooms downstairs before taking me right to the back of the castle, to an exquisitely decorated lounge in shades of dusky and very bright red.

"My personal sitting room, I had to bring you here because I cannot possibly wait another moment to hear your news dear! You are bonded with Eric now; I picked up on that instantly. So, when did it happen?" she asks me after pointing to a beautiful chaise that I seat myself upon, and then going to a nearby table and picking up two glasses and a bottle of wine. She pours a wonderfully scented red into a glass for me, and then straightens up again to take her place on the chez opposite mine and clicks her fingers twice. Like lightening, a different member of her staff comes in immediately, followed a few moments later by a human girl.

"Into the glass or via vein your majesty?" he asks her.

"The glass please, I do have company after all" she replies, underlining a certain etiquette I notice. Apparently she feels it rude or just not appropriate to feed directly from the source in front of a guest. So the vampire servant takes the wrist of the smartly dressed human girl, pierces the vein with a sharp spiked gold ring he wears just over the end of his thumb and lets her bleed out until Agnes' glass is half full before sealing her wound. The queen then gives a wave of her hand to indicate they are both dismissed and they leave before she turns back to me expectantly, waiting for the answer to her question.

"Last night, it happened when we stopped because of the weather. It wasn't planned or anything like that. The time just felt right" I reply, the happiness escalating in my voice as I see how excited Agnes looks by the news. As I've mentioned before, she is a lot more expressive than most vampires who I have met, and right now her pretty face really is lit up like a Christmas tree with genuine pleasure.

"Please, do continue" she urges me, smiling widely.

"It was something I think had been on my mind for a time before I actually realized I wanted it. I think his own voicing of his commitment to me was what I actually needed to hear in order to finally speak up about it".

"Of course, we all need to feel reassured that our devotion is reciprocated" she interrupts with in an understanding tone.

"Then a few days ago he took me out and presented me with this" I begin, showing her the lovely ring on my right hand. "He told me that this represented his commitment to me, and that he only wanted to enter a bond with me should it be what I wished. He told me that he was committed to me regardless of it, and wanted to show that by not being bonded, showing me he chose to be with me. It was hearing those words that really did make me realize just how much I wanted to be bonded with him. Also, how difficult it became for him not to feed from me while we were being intimate. I didn't want him to have to suffer that any longer, so last night it happened. Just like that" I reply while Agnes truly does beam at me.

"How romantic!" she exclaims before taking a sip of her blood and letting go of my hand after examining my ring. "How are you finding it so far then? Being bonded with him?" she then asks curiously.

"Its...interesting" I begin with a little laugh, her picking up on what I'm laughing about instantly it would seem.

"Let me guess, right now you want each other so badly all of the time you can barely focus on anything else?"

"Absolutely" I reply as we share laughter.

"Yes, I do remember it to be like that from when old friends of mine bonded with their Wolverina. They took their ladies to bed and that was it, I didn't see them for weeks! It's perfectly natural. Perhaps the only thing I could liken it to is perhaps the honeymoon period of a marriage, where you just cannot get enough of each other. Only about a thousand times stronger of course" she tells me.

"Well yes, I have to agree there. It got so bad while we were driving off the ferry if Ralph hadn't have been there waiting for us I think it would have ended up as a 'sex in the car' situation. Which isn't comfortable when you're as tall as Eric and me' I reply, a little shocked to see Agnes really fall apart laughing, slapping her thigh with her hand.

"Yes! I have been there too, with my late husband after he brought a brand new Cadillac Eldorado many, many years ago. Even though I am very little, he was a very tall man" she informs me, while I gape slightly. Her husband?

"You were married?" I ask her with much interest. When she visited before she was very guarded over her life, steering any conversation about her away and back to me again. Now it seems that perhaps since Eric and I have shown a very serious commitment to each other she is more trusting of what she tells me.

"We shall discuss the man of my past, and more about the man of your present and future in a little while child. Let me show you around the rest of my home first. Up you get" she replies enthusiastically to me, holding out her hand to help pull me up from the very, very comfortable chaise lounge I was enjoying sitting on. As we pass along through each room in the house I cannot help but notice there are pictures of Agnes everywhere, with the same man who ages through the photographs. My curiosity really has been well and truly tickled at being told she had a husband, who was obviously human too. I can barely wait to learn more about him, and more about his gorgeous widow who is currently showing me around her home.

You know when you have this feeling inside that you are really going to get along well with someone? Well I've had that since I first met Agnes, and her kindness and chivalry shown towards me so far this evening only cements that notion further. I think this is the start to what promises to be a very interesting and informative stay in Norway.

**Authors note - A huge thanks to all of you thoughtful enough to leave a review as always :) and thank you to all who continue to silently read too. And a Merry Christmas to you all xxx.**


	42. Chapter 42

Tyra's POV.

"This is the dining room, as you might guess it hasn't been used in a while since I do not have any human friends. The only humans I consort with are my staff and the family of my late husband" Agnes tells me after opening a large door (they're all huge though to be honest) to reveal a thirty foot dining room, it's walls lined with beautiful paintings of white horses and a very grand looking table and chairs set. We've been walking around the castle for twenty minutes now, and so far we've only covered the ground floor. I've seen all the downstairs restrooms (of which there are four, she does have human staff so they are entirely necessary), the library, the four different lounges (or 'sitting rooms' as she calls them), the kitchen, the store room, the billiards room and the three separate offices. All the rooms are massive too, just amazing in their sheer size let alone their lavish decor.

Oh I almost forgot she has an aquarium too, and when I say aquarium I do not mean a couple of large fish tanks dotted around, oh no. I mean an actual aquarium that you can walk into and be surrounded by real stone caves with gigantic tanks set into down in the basement. With thousands of tropical fish and various sea crustaceans living within them, oh and then there's the sharks. Yep, she's got two hammerheads. They're incredible.

"My husband loved marine life, so I brought some a little closer for him" she tells me as we watch a smaller tank containing sea horses. We then round a corner to move onto the next tank, and I almost die of fright when I see what lives in there. Letting out a shrill scream I jump back as Agnes turns to give me a baffled look, and then the next thing I know the blur of my boyfriend stops in front of me. He felt my fear and came to me at once, and that is very sweet of him. He then looks over his shoulder at the tank and then knowingly back at me.

"I probably should have mentioned that Agnes keeps an octopus. I should have known she'd of course show you around here and that you'd run into him" he says. I'll give him his due; he at least tries not to find it amusing.

"Tyra, he's behind eight inches of reinforced glass. He can't possibly escape" Agnes assures me kindly, but still sounds as amused as Eric does while drumming her long fingernails against the glass. This is an action that makes the huge beast within reach forward a tentacle and follow Agnes' hand wherever she moves it to, unsettling me further. Octopuses for some reason have always completely freaked me out, all those tentacles and the hollow looking eyes. They make me shudder in a bad, bad way. Of course, this is something Eric knows. Yeah, he found it funny too when I first told him I'm terrified of the damn things.

"I know, I know. I'm just a little octo-phobic is all. They really creep me out" I say as I pull an unnerved face and edge my way along the wall as far away from the glass as I can be. After seeing that I'm okay Eric heads off, leaving Agnes and I to continue our tour. Moving on to the tank containing a hell of a lot of barracudas and very ornate coral and rockery they swim in and out of I feel a lot more peaceful again.

"Sorry Zeus scared you. He's a lovely old thing though" Agnes says, resting a hand to my shoulder.

"I think I'm much happier here in barracuda territory if it's all the same to you Agnes" I reply, watching her nod.

"Point taken, I don't think my ears could stand another one of those high pitched screams of yours either. My, Eric must be near deafened when he takes you to bed if those are the decibels you can reach" she jokes, her one eyebrow arching in a casual way.

"You'll probably hear for yourself later" I reply in the same tone she used, making her laugh and look approving of my joke. With vampires, simple and blunt humour works very well.

"I doubt there's any 'probably' about it" she says with a wink, before the tour continues out of the aquarium and onto the first floor. We pass by many bedrooms she avoids showing me to save time before we head up to the second floor to pass much the same. At the end of the long hallway next to the third flight of stairs we come to a stop and Agnes lets us into the very last room.

"Yours and Eric's room, I do hope you like it" she says as we walk inside. Like it? I want to live here. The walls are decorated in black embossed flock style wallpaper, with lots of very elegant white plasterwork and carvings running from floor to ornate ceiling. There's a big fireplace on the opposing wall to the bed (which is quite a distance away) with a large couch in front of it. In between that and the fire is an actual polar bear rug, head still intact. The whole room is decorated in black (the walls and carpet) and brilliant white (the plaster and the bed covers) with ornaments in a brushed, dull gold effect dotted around. A very large flat screen television is also mounted to one of the walls too.

"Very much so" I reply as I walk around the small pile that is our luggage at the foot of the bed and over to the window. The view of the gardens is beautiful, and as I look out over it a small symbol printed into the corner of the glass catches my attention. Agnes' home is installed with shadow glass just as the hotel was, the manufacturers' symbols match. I wonder when it'll catch on back at home. Not that Eric will need it installing in his apartment since it's below the basement. After this she explains that there are just another few bedrooms and an attic up on the other floors (and her private bedroom suite she naturally wants to keep private) and one more room downstairs she shows me on the way back.

"Joseph and I were quite the film lovers. There's just about everything worth watching produced over the last seventy years all here in DVD glory. I refuse to replace them with Blu-Ray, it's just another scheme cooked up to relieve stupid humans of their cash. Besides, even higher definition makes no difference to my eyes. Everything is sharp" she tells me after opening the door and gesturing into the room that is lined with row upon row of shelves housing thousands of movies. With that our tone is concluded and takes me back to her sitting room.

"So, you wanted to know about my husband then" Agnes begins as she picks up her glass of blood and hands me my wine. It turns out she's the kind of vampire who doesn't mind her blood cold. She didn't have her True Blood heated when she visited us in Louisiana, and she doesn't mind that the content of the glass she's sipping from now is as cold as stone.

"Only if that's something you want to discuss. I respect your privacy of course" I reply after thanking her for passing my wine.

"I wouldn't offer if I didn't" she replies efficiently, but with a hint of a friendly smile.

"I must say, he was a very, very handsome man" I reply, reaching for a picture of the two of them on the ornate little table she just retrieved our glasses from.

"Oh heavens yes he was! That picture was taken on the night we met. My gorgeous Joseph" she tells me, tapping her long deep red painted fingernail on the gold frame as she looks down at it too. Joseph was at least Eric's height and build, if not a little taller. And he had black hair all slicked back into the style at the time for the sixties (I guess this was the decade they met if Agnes' dress in the photograph is anything to go by). He reminds me a more handsome version of Ronnie Kray; one half of the British gangster twins the Krays. He's dressed in a smart grey suit and Agnes what looks to be a colourfully patterned A-line cut dress, with her hair all swept up in a tidy pleat and pearl jewellery finishing her neat appearance. I can't pick up specific colours since the photograph is black and white.

"I'd love to hear the story behind this photograph and the night you met" I comment before putting it back in its place on the table.

"He was a very, very close friend of a family of vampire secret keepers I and a few associates were close to. They thought Joseph and I would get along very well and so introduced us at a boxing match one night in 1960. He was an ex fighter and local promoter and the family of secret keepers had two sons who he also managed the careers of. I'd gone to watch Wilfred, the youngest of the boys fight for the first time and that was when I was introduced to Joseph. He had absolutely no idea at first what I was, and wondered why his friends had tried to 'set him up with a little girl' as he worded it. It was then that we told him that he was the youngster to me in actual fact, since I was 4,031 years old at the time" she tells me as she launches into the story, looking like she's reliving the first time she met her husband all over again in her head. I nod, silently urging her to continue.

"He was absolutely amazed, totally bewildered in fact. He was never scared of me though, although of course he knew the wrath I could bring. He just treated me normally which was the thing that really struck a chord. It was the first time I could ever remember someone just wanting to get to know Agnes Bynhild the woman, not Agnes Bynhild vampire queen of Norway. That part of me just didn't matter very much to him. He was a very different man to most humans, saw things very differently. You and he would have got on amazingly well, I just know it. He would have liked your openness and strength, and the fact you are not a pushover. Joseph had absolutely no time for weak people. From that night we began to spend a lot of time together, and he really did open my heart and my mind to so many possibilities.

I realized when I met him just how much I wanted companionship, since it was something I had never allowed myself since a brief ten year relationship I had with another vampire back in the year 500AD. It wasn't much of a relationship though, more a companion for all things sexually adventurous. I didn't ever love her. I loved and still do love my Joseph immensely. We had so much in common, but really in the end it was his total acceptance of me that sealed the deal. When he proposed to me I started crying, and did not stop for at least half an hour. It was the first time I'd cried in thousands of years too at that point. He stirred such emotion in me that I just knew he was the one I wanted by my side until his death. So nine months after we met, we married here at the palace" she tells me in her long explanation, getting up and walking over to a shelf to pull out a very heavy looking leather photograph album.

She places it on my lap and I begin to flick through the pictures, all of a very lavish looking wedding. Agnes resplendent in a long white dress cut very low at the front. It amuses me that in quite a few of the pictures Joseph cannot tear his eyes away from the voluptuous bosom of his new bride. They certainly made a very handsome couple, and the smile on Agnes' face throughout the pictures clearly indicates just how much she loved her husband.

"It must have been very hard for you, to lose him" I comment, looking up from the picture at Agnes and watching her smile become betrayed by the little flicker of sadness that enters her eyes.

"I will not be untrue, yes it was. Although of course I had many years to harden myself to the loss I knew I'd eventually feel. Joseph did not want to be made; he always stated to live forever was something he did not want to do. I respected him for that so much too, although it was a bitter pill to swallow. I did for a little time take it personally until I realized of course, love is unconditional. I could not put conditions on that love, order him to join me in vampirism or else face the consequences. I never would have done that to him, even though I could have. I wanted him by my side because he wanted to be there, not because he was forced. Much like what Eric told you when he presented that ring to you" she replies, as I notice her twirling her wedding band around on her finger before she continues.

"He died on January the first this year, at exactly ten minutes past midnight. Which I thought very fitting since when I was first introduced to him it was that very time. Not the same day of course, but the time was exact at the point he came into my life and then left it all those years later. I do miss him terribly" she tells me, while I feel sadness at her story beginning to well up inside me. It makes me think of Eric, and to hope that when my time is done he will be okay and make his peace with it before it happens. Unless I decide to become what he is. To be very honest the thought has crossed my mind a couple of times, although not something I really want to think about right at this moment.

"I'm very sorry Agnes" I offer, not really knowing what else to say

"Don't be child, I appreciate the sentiment though. He died a very happy man, and left behind a heartbroken, but very happy widow. He gave me my sparkle back, made me enjoy life again rather than push it aside. Made me see that the little things I always considered beneath me as a vampire were the ones that could bring me the greatest joy. I'll never, ever be more thankful to anyone for the rest of my existence as I am to Joseph, for all he did for me". I turn my head at this point, since her words have touched me to tears. When I look away for a few moments my attention is caught by a picture of her and Joseph, one of perhaps the last taken. He has wires feeding into his withered but still huge hand attached to a drip just to the side of the picture, and is cradling Agnes on his lap. Even elderly and weak, he still looks so strong and proud in the photograph. A giant compared to little Agnes. The way they are looking at each other is just so beautiful, the love they shared so crystal clear in their smiles and their eyes.

"I can see how much you loved him, and in turn how much he loved you. I think you were very brave to marry him, to know one day you would lose him but always have to carry the memory of him without your own respite of death" I tell her, watching her nod and smile.

"The things we do for love" she replies. "Speaking of which, I feel I have taken you away from the side of your love for a little longer than expected. Let us go and find him" she then adds. Before we do though she quickly takes me back to the kitchen and instructs the cook to prepare for me 'whatever my friend wants to eat' as she words it, before pulling open a huge double door refrigerator for me to choose. After having no idea what the hell to eat, cook lists off a reel of his specials and after a little more consideration I choose a simple dish of pan friend chicken and vegetables. He gets to work and Agnes and I leave the kitchen, with her taking a pack of True Blood bottles from the fridge and a fresh bottle of red for me before we go and join Eric and Ralph in another very large sitting room.

This one is decorated all in shades of deep and light green, with lots of taxidermy nailed to the walls, on shelves and also standing in the corner is a seven foot brown bear on his hind legs, paws poised in attack mode and its big mouth open to reveal the huge teeth within. Near the other corner and right next to the fire is a big animal that's definitely friendlier looking than the bear though; my big animal who is sitting in an armchair and who gently steers me onto his lap before I get the chance to pull another chair closer to him. There we all sit and converse, mainly over my supernatural status since Ralph is predictably very keen to learn all about me and how I realized what I was, and is genuinely fascinated by the tale. After that the conversation leads to Eric's recent encounter with the soul reaper, Agnes actually letting out a little gasp when she hears that he completely drained it dry in order to protect me.

"Eric, you must have suffered considerably" she comments.

"It wasn't pleasant" he replies as a frown creases his forehead. I am just about to interject with my own thoughts on it when there is a knock at the door and a maid enters on Agnes' say so to inform me my food is ready. I head off back to the kitchen with her while Eric, Agnes and Ralph continue their discussion.

"Oh my word, this is absolutely delicious erm, sorry I don't know your name" I say to the cook as he stands with his back to the sink and looks pleased that I'm enjoying the food he's prepared for me.

"Gustav. Pleased to meet you Miss Tyra" he replies, offering his hand that I shake after placing my knife down.

"Well Gustav, you certainly know how to cook chicken perfectly" I reply before taking another bite of the mouth watering food.

"Master Joseph always told me the same. That was his favourite dish that you are eating now. It was nice to prepare it again" he tells me.

"How coincidental, Agnes was just telling me all about him" I reply after chewing my mouthful thoroughly.

"He is very much missed. He would come in and eat all his meals with us, the queen's human staff. He always treated us like friends and never employees. He was a wonderful man. Very hard like Queen Agnes, but so friendly" he tells me before turning to finish loading the dishwasher. I sense that Agnes was not the only one affected by loss when Joseph died. After finishing my meal I put my plate into the sink and walk back across the kitchen to the door, smiling as I realize I can sense Eric on the other side of it.

"Agnes was called to her office, urgent business apparently. I suggest you take these, and we retire upstairs" he tells me, holding out the glass and bottle of wine I left in the lounge with him. I agree it's a good plan and tell him I'll meet him up there, deciding to take up Agnes' offer of perusing her vast movie collection. I spend about ten minutes browsing before one title picks my interest.

"Movies for the most part do not interest me all that much, but I do remember Pam telling me she enjoyed this" Eric says as I pass him the box and switch on the television, then go around and heave the couch around at one end so it faces toward the screen and not the fire. I throw my tired body down as soon as I've retrieved my wine, Eric joining me after putting the disc in. I spot the remote over on the mantelpiece and get back up to retrieve it before sitting down comfortably again and press play for the movie Saw to begin. Although it doesn't take long for me to press pause and look at Eric as noises from outside begin filtering into our ears.

"I think they're trying to get your attention" he tells me as we shuffle off the couch and head over to the window. Our bedroom faces the rear gardens of the palace, and when we look out of the window we see the same number of wolves all milling around on the snow covered grass, all howling beautifully at the sky. I think it's a lovely noise, a wolf howl. It's almost like they're singing.

"No I think they're calling to the other wolves in the forest, see" I reply, pointing right to the back of the gardens where more wolves come running to the call of the others.

"And they're doing that to get your attention" he replies.

"You always have to be right" I comment.

"No, you just don't like being wrong, or admitting to it"

"Yes I can admit to being wrong you self righteous old fucker!"

"Yeah and this arguing back really goes a long way to prove that point". And on we bicker back and forth at one another, until I get fed up of him and his big mouth and decide to kiss him into silence while pushing him back on the couch so I'm on top of him.

"See now you try and silence me with affection. What a bad girl you are Tyra. Also a sore loser in the argument stakes" he tells me while looking amused.

"Let's just watch the film huh?" I tell him, shaking my head. I'm glad the deeper feelings between us because of our blood bond still leave room for us to bicker at each other. It's fun, and totally normal and healthy I think too. We can't get along all the time, no matter how jokey our disagreements may be rather than serious ones. I think we got a lot of that out of our systems, the heated conflicts we both relished in, right back when we first started sleeping together.

"I enjoyed that, very much. I like it when a movie really questions the viewers own perception of the plot, and much more too. A very challenging watch" he tells me, an hour or so later once the film is finished.

"If you liked that then you'll probably enjoy the sequels just as much too" I comment, standing up to eject the DVD and put it safely back into its case.

"There's more?" he asks me.

"There are seven in total. Do you want to watch the next one now?" I ask him.

"Yes but allow me to fetch it, I'll be there and back much quicker" he replies as he gets up off the couch, takes the DVD from me and then just stops and stares at me for a few moments. He then give me the kind of kiss that makes my knees judder.

"We can watch the second, but no more after that for tonight. I have other plans, ones that might not wait until the movie has finished to be totally honest" he tells me, looking at me with 'that look', that look that could send even a nun weak with want for him.

"Well hurry up then" I tell him, walking past him and giving him a hard slap on the butt as I pass.

"If you keep that up hurrying will be the last thing on my mind" he tells me with a crafty smirk before he's gone. He returns literally twenty seconds later and we settle in to watch the second instalment of pure gore that psychologically messes with your head. With the suggestion of sex lingering in the air though we only make it roughly half an hour through the film before it's switched off and I've literally been thrown onto the bed and then around it for the following two hours. Before I go to sleep after being sexually assaulted in the nicest possible way by Eric (who fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow) I read a message that was received mid way through our lengthy sex session, and cannot help but giggle when I read it.

'I think the octopus made you scream much less dear...' the text from Agnes reads.

**Authors note - Last update before Christmas now! I hope you all have a wonderful, wonderful Christmas folks, and once again thank you all so much for the reads and reviews!xxx**


	43. Chapter 43

Agnes' POV.

"Oh how I miss the touch of a man" I sigh to myself as I lie in bed and shut my ears to the noise coming from the floor below, the sensuously erotic sounds of Eric and Tyra having sex. Granted, they aren't being particularly overly loud, but my ancient self picks up on the energy as well as the noise. I can pick up on Eric's arousal and that's what is driving me crazy right now, sending shivers down my spine. Tyra is a lucky woman, he is exceptionally handsome. Exceptionally gifted too, from what I've head from a couple of vampire girlfriends of mine who have enjoyed him in the past.

I cannot help it, to pick up on it. As I said I miss the touch of a man. The feel of an excited male body quivering with shivers of pleasure as it presses against mine. Yet whenever I go to put that thought into practice, it doesn't feel right. Hence why I'm sharing my bed with a woman right now, absent of a man since I lost my husband. Women are different. Joseph used to enjoy watching me with women, so it isn't something that feels wrong. I never thought I would ever have the substance inside to feel wrongful over anything at my age. Yet obviously I can, for having another man in my bed just feels like a huge disrespect to the memory of him. Still, it doesn't mean I can shut off my want. Taking Helene to bed just about sates my ravenous libido. Having a man would completely satisfy it, yet I just cannot.

"Good evening darling" I whisper as my hand reaches out and finds Joseph's photograph, a picture I took of him one morning in the darkness of the gardens, literally just before I had to run inside to escape the sunlight (even before shadow glass, we had heavy drapes to protect me from the sun). The year was 1965, and I remember the relief I felt when that picture was taken since his children had been to stay for the weekend with us and I was very glad to see the back of them. I cannot abide them when they are small, and I certainly didn't with my stepchildren back then either. Joseph was married for nine years before he and his first wife divorced when he was thirty two. He had just turned thirty six when I met him.

Even though I had done everything you could do sexually, he still excited me dangerously, still aroused me to levels where I thought I may lose my mind. In his prime, he was six foot six inches and 275lb's of pure Norwegian muscle. Raven black hair, beautiful dark green eyes, and a big thick cock I still ache with want for. I'd freely let him throw me around the bedroom, pin me down, slam my body into walls and fuck me up against them. For a change, he made me want to be the submissive. His raw manliness aroused me too strongly for me to want to dominate him all of the time. We even enjoyed a healthy sex life long into his senior years with the help of Viagra. It only diminished the year before he died because of all the medication he was on.

"How I still burn for you, my love" I whisper to his picture, and then groan faintly when my concentration slips and I hear a deep growl followed by a soft female moan from the floor below. It makes my insides tighten with arousal, and causes me to literally fly from my bed and into my huge en suite, through it into the wet room and straight under the shower jet I turn to freezing cold. This method does work for vampires as well as you humans; well it works for me at least. I then look up just before Helene appears on the other side of the glass.

"Agnes, are you okay?" she asks in her heavy French accent.

"I will be" I tell her, opening the door and pulling her in, turning the water temperature to hot before lifting her up and pinning her to the wall as my fingers stroke between her legs and my mouth closes over one of her dark nipples. She's not male, but she'll do for now.

Tyra's POV.

"Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahhhh!" That is the sound of me, being entered and retreated from very, very hard and slow, my body quivering all over. My head and elbows rest on the floor, the rest of me up on the bed with Eric who is between my legs groaning over and over. His hands hold me at the hips firmly to prevent me from sliding off the bed, while I drown in pleasure so intense the large patterned rug beneath the bed swims before my eyes. Or maybe it's because I'm all dreamy and high on vampire blood after biting right into Eric's chest to get it. He loves it when I do that to him.

I'm then pulled back up onto the bed, him lying on his back as I sit up on top of him, my back to him as I begin to grind up and down on his iron hard dick. His hands at first grip my ass at first before finding their way to my breasts, while I use one hand to support myself rested to the side of his stomach and the other reaches down to rub his balls. They're saturated in my wetness, thick trails of it moistening his length and getting spread around. Suddenly I feel his hand in my hair, stroking before pulling until I'm lying flat against him, my sweaty back sliding against his hard chest. I can feel his hardened nipples rubbing against my shoulders as his mouth bites, licks and sucks at the side of my neck.

I feel tightly pinched all over with arousal, my hot skin flushing pink while Eric's hands run all over it. I then feel him move suddenly from underneath me, and the next thing I know is that he's repositioned himself between my legs and is currently circling my clit with the tip of his tongue. Circling it harder, faster, until my skin breaks out into goosepimples and with one last long gasp I come. The next thing I feel is him back inside me, his arms winding around me as he kisses me, his own release shuddering through him a few moments after as he moans deeply into my mouth.

What a way to start the evening, since I've decided to be on vampire time for the duration of my stay (there wouldn't be much point waking in the day) it has just turned 6pm, and we've been having sex since the sun went down and Eric awoke at about 5pm. We don't move or speak for a time after; just lie there wrapped around each other, him still inside me as he strokes my face and kisses me.

"I suppose it would be rude to stay here and just to this all day, wouldn't it?" he finally asks me while I'm idly stroking his back.

"Yes, it would" I confirm, lifting my head to kiss the top of his, rested on my chest. He often lies there after we've had sex with his ear pressed to my chest, listening to my heart beating. He says it relaxes him again after such exertion. Alas I must disturb his relaxation though, since I need a shower before the smell of sweat and sex dry onto me. He comes with me though...and yes I did intend the pun since as soon as we're under the water we're all over each other again. He's a ridiculously good lover, and it would seem I'm not the only one to know that either. Or rather, know I've been enjoying him.

"Now that's what I call a nice healthy sex glow" Agnes tells me as I sit down at the other side of her desk roughly an hour after I left Eric upstairs. I've had breakfast and a quick stroll around the gardens in the deep snow in the time between.

"Is it really that noticeable?" I ask her, not particularly noticing any kind of flush in my cheeks when I applied my makeup earlier.

"Even if it wasn't I'd still be able to smell Eric all over you" she replies with a wink, before closing her eyes momentarily and breathing in. "He smells intoxicating" she then adds before her eyes spring open again and she smiles.

"Excuse me, I've erm, missed the touch of a man and because of that I cannot help but be able to pick up on when yours is aroused" she explains, while I just nod kind of dumbly. What do you say to that?

"Sorry. My frankness has stunned you a little I see. Let us move on before I embarrass either myself or you further child. I asked that you come and see me because in the time between our last meet I've been researching. I've been searching for more of your kind. It's only natural that if there are any families as old as your line still around, then any female baby born after 1981 to that family will of course be Wolverina" she tells me, back to her normal self rather than looking rather...longing shall we say. I know she wouldn't want my sympathy but I cannot help but feel for her. I'm glad she's changed the subject on this count, so she can take her mind off it. Also for selfish reasons too, since I do want to learn more about what I am. Finding out of there is more of my kind out there is a good place to start.

"And did you find anything?" I ask her hopefully. How I would love not to be the only one.

"Alas no, or rather not yet at least, I began searching the line of every family of Wolverina women. My memory was pushed for a time but I managed to remember them all and begin tracing them from 981AD. Most ran to an end between the 150 and 1700's, only fifteen went further and those fifteen I am still in the process of trying to find. Before anything or anyone else finds them' she tells me with a touch of urgency in her voice.

"Agnes, do you think I'm in danger from Russell too, even though he's locked up?" I then ask her frankly.

"Yes, you could be. Eric's theory that he has others doing his bidding for him is entirely possible. If I had to pin it on anyone it'd be him. I alerted some of my ears in the walls close to a very big threat, Li San Lu the king of Tokyo. Thankfully he is none the wiser over your existence. There are other dangerous vampires out there, but none older or stronger than Eric. So to draw conclusion, I do think Russell is somehow behind it. It is why I want to know if there are others, so I may warn them. Whoever is working on Edgington's behalf will know finding more of your kind will score him more points with his or her boss upon his release from the silver casket. I must find them first, if there are any" she replies at length. I've never known a vampire quite as chatty as Agnes. She does love conversation. "You Tyra, what do you think about it all though? What are your theories?" she then questions me very directly.

"It would make perfect sense if it was him. The simplest theory is often the correct one" I offer concisely while she nods, sitting very still in that slightly eerie way vampires do. You can never quite tell when they're going to zone out on you. Vampires just stop all of a sudden at times you see, switch off and go into their own little world out of boredom, or when they concentrate on a thought so intently that they shut out everything else. I lose Eric like that sometimes and just have to patiently wait until he focuses again.

"Needless to say I'm glad we're here right now. Eric hasn't been tense since we have. I can feel it, the change. He's constantly got one eye watching out for what might happen next back in Louisiana" I tell her, watching her nod.

"If you were mine I'd be exactly the same. This is why I kept Joseph discreet just as Eric does with you. The one small handful of vampires I plan to introduce you to tomorrow evening is most trusted and very, very old friends of mine. I've known them for over two thousand years so rest assured they will keep your secret. I can guarantee you and him of that" she assures me.

"That's comforting. Agnes I must ask you, since you did allude to the fact there was more about my kind you wanted to teach me while I was here, I must ask, when will that begin?" I ask her. I feel directness to be best, and I do want to learn more about my kind. In particular, any other ways I might have of defending myself from attack. If there may be any.

"As soon as you like" she replies with a smile. As soon as I like is now, so immediately ask the question I have at the forefront of my mind.

"Defence against wolves and weres you know already. But other than that there isn't much you can do personally to defend yourself from a vampire that is something unique to your kind. Just the regular defence methods such as wood and silver to use in an attack are viable. The only other defence of course is the fact that Eric will be able to feel you all the time as you know, and find his way to you too. No one can block that connection out. You will never be lost to him, he'll always be able to find you wherever you are" she informs me in beginning. There is a little knock at the door and before we go any further a maid brings in a pot of coffee on a tray with a large cup and saucer present.

"I thought you might like something hot to drink. The castle is particularly cold at the moment. Eva, have more fires lit" she instructs the human maid as she pours my coffee. I thank her and watch as she goes to light the fire in here. I think it's a nice gesture from Agnes, to make the place warmer for my benefit.

"Thank you very much" I tell her, picking up the cup and giving it a long blow before my careful sip.

"I must assure you Tyra, all the protection you shall ever need is what you already possess, Eric. The lengths he has gone to in keeping you safe in the daytime will of course be all you need until whoever sent the reaper to you is found" she tells me. I'm inclined to believe she's right too; with at least one set of eyes on me at all times I feel very secure. Its vampire attack I'm most afraid of, but of course in the dark Eric will always be with me.

"I'm looking forward to the day when whoever did it is found" I reply. With that we move on, with Agnes moving to a large bookshelf in the corner of her office and pulling down a pile of lever arch files she's laid close to the edge for convenience.

"Here, these are all ancient texts I sat and translated them all with Ralph's help. He read, I typed of course" she begins as she passes me files. Of course she would have typed, can you imagine how many words per minute vampire fingers can tap out? "I want you to read these at your leisure. I would say take them with you but they are bulky, so I also saved them onto something much less large" she adds, passing me a small memory stick.

"Thank you Agnes, and if you don't mind I think I will go and do that right now" I reply, watching her click her fingers and then turning to see a vampire butler appear.

"Please carry the coffee tray and files for Tyra back up to her room, or wherever else she wishes to sit while she reads them" Agnes instructs him. He gives her a little nod and whispers 'majesty' in acknowledgement of the order given and leads the way out of the office.

"If you would like to dress warmly, I shall take you on a tour of the grounds in two hours from now. I have some work to attend to first" she tells me before I leave, with me thanking her and agreeing to meet her down in the kitchen at 8.30pm. The first thing I do as soon as I'm back is plonk myself down on the couch, which Eric has turned to face the fire again. I stick my feet right out and wiggle my cold toes, warming them up nicely. Even in socks still this castle is very cold to walk around in the areas not in close proximity of a fireplace.

"And what is all this you have here" Eric asks me after the butler leaves us in peace. Sitting down next to me on the couch I see he has an old book of mine I leant him in his hand, the biography of Heinrich Himmler. Of course, through his and Godric's mission 'operation werewolf' in the early forties Eric did meet Himmler, but never infiltrated the SS thoroughly enough to come in contact with him more than once. He even shook hands with The Führer once, who remarked that Eric felt very cold to him (naturally) and that since that was the case he'd 'have no trouble if I sent you to the Russian front soldier' as he worded it cheerfully to him. Yes, apparently Hitler was quite cheerful according to Eric. 'As long as everything was going his way at least he was' Eric mentioned when we sat and talked of his days being an infiltrator of the SS.

"Agnes translated a lot of old texts about the Wolverina race for me to read, so I'm about to do just that" I reply, reaching over to give him a kiss on the cheek before we both separately begin to read, me the files and him the book. I love the way we so easily slip into separate togetherness like this. Not a lot of couples can be comfortable sharing total silence while they enjoy separate endeavours, but still remain right next to each other.

"Agnes is taking me on a tour of the grounds in a little while" are the first words I speak to him in over an hour, checking my watch to see I still have forty five minutes before I have to meet her down in the kitchen.

"Ahh, now I can warn you over something. She's probably taking you down to see her horses, and I know you aren't particularly fond of anything equine so I just thought I'd say. Horses tend to get understandably scared if you scream at them, so you've been forewarned" Eric replies, while I roll my eyes. How many other beasts does Agnes keep that I'm scared of?

"Oh for fucks sake!" I exclaim, making Eric laugh at me.

"Very large creatures they may be, but they're very gentle too. At least the beautiful animals Agnes owns are. All those paintings in the dining room are of the horses she's kept over the years; it's one of the ways in which she makes her very profitable living. She breeds pure Lipizzaner horses, which have very considerable price tags" he tells me, as I cast my mind back and remember the paintings of the white horses that adorned the walls. Forty or so minutes later and Agnes and I are walking through the gardens and down to the huge indoor stables they are all kept in.

Vampires do not seem the type to be animal lovers, but all bar Pam (the only fur she likes is that which has been skinned for fashion purposes) that I know have a certain softness for them. Eric likes the company of my cat, Fabien has told me he has four Rottweiler dogs who guard his home (he's solitary, doesn't live in a nest or with his maker and has yet to make a progeny) while he sleeps, and Agnes as well as marine life would seem to be very much the horse lover. When she opens up the huge sliding doors that we enter into the indoor block, it would seem they love her just as much.

She greets them with affectionate words in Norwegian as we walk in, in reply to the happy noises of welcome they make. All of their heads are pointed in her direction, and their ears pricked to attention.

"Eric tells me breeding them is in part how you earn your living. What interested you in it then to want to take it up as a career?" I ask her as she stops by the first horses' box and fishes in her jacket pocket, producing a small mint she feeds to the horse on the flat of her palm while giving his or her neck a hearty pat.

"I've always loved them, such big but gentle creatures. My only sadness of being a vampire is that I cannot ride during the day time, or oversee much of the breeding work personally. My human estate manager Martjin does all of the work for me and then I come down once it's dark to see how things are going. To answer your question further, I like making my passions my business. Just as you did too" she replies as we move to the next box.

"My own personal horse, this is Odin. He's not a Lipizzaner like the others you might note, he's a thoroughbred. He used to race before I brought him" she tells me as we stop by the stable of a huge, huge looking horse. I step back when he reaches to sniff me, bracing myself as Agnes gently places a hand to my back to prevent me from walking back any further. Odin then carefully sniffs my hair while I feel nervous, and then moves his head and gently gives me a shove in the cheek with his muzzle.

"Good boy" she tells him as she strokes his face and scratches behind his ear. "He senses your fear and is reassuring you he means no harm" she then adds, looking at her steed with pride. "Oh in case you wondered I have to speak to him in English, since he was born and bred over in a place called Essex on the eastern coast of England. It would have been too difficult for him to learn commands in another language at three years old, which was when I brought him" she then adds while I nod in reply.

"He's very beautiful" I comment, finally feeling a little braver and reaching out to stroke his big face. His coat is a gorgeous iron grey colour, with big dapples up his neck and a white face as sparkling as the snow outside, all his strong looking muscles trembling under his big padded rug.

"Isn't he?" Agnes begins before taking a large wool blanket that is hung up over a rail at the front of his stable and taking it in when she opens the door and enters. "He's too cold so I need to put this on him too" she explains, before expertly and quickly undoing his rug, throwing it over the stable door, arranging the wool blanket over him neatly and then fitting his rug back over the top. It's a nice display of how down to earth she can be; not summoning someone else to do this for her, attending to her treasured pet and his needs herself. After she's done making him cosy we continue our tour of the lavish stable block (these animals are certainly kept in five star comforts) and while we walk she tells me more about the horses she breeds.

Apparently Lipizzaner's or the Lipizzan as they are known collectively are all born a darker colour, and it is only when they reach between six to ten years of age that their coat comes through pure white. She also informs me that to call them white is actually incorrect terminology, and that they are known as grey to those in the know about all things equine. They are also known as 'the dancing horses' by some, used for classical dressage. The very horses that made the Spanish Riding School in Vienna famous in fact, which does actually prickle a small memory of mine of seeing them on the television doing a performance way, way back in my childhood. Agnes sells them to the competitive dressage circuit, and monitors the blood lines very closely so she can pride herself on producing foals of 100% pure Lipizzan blood. Then I get a real treat as Agnes guides me up some steps right at the end of the block and opens the door to a huge arena, where a tall man is riding one of the horses. We sit at the bottom of the seating area and watch as the man expertly puts the horse through his paces.

"How is he doing today Martjin?" she asks him. I love the fact she speaks to all of her staff in English when I'm around, so as not to leave me bewildered by the conversation.

"He's being a lamb for a change your majesty" Martjin replies as he works the horse on a circle at the end of the arena we're sat at so Agnes can watch him better.

"Would you care to show him off a little to Tyra? I very much feel like being big headed today" she tells him, smiling naughtily as Martjin just laughs very heartily.

"Of course your majesty" he replies before bringing the horse to a walk and then turning him to ride him a little closer to where we are sitting before bringing him to a halt. He gives a command in Norwegian (of course) and does something with his reins before sitting back as the horse bows down and drops to his front knees, the rest of him still aloft and his chin touching the ground. He then gets back up gracefully and I see Martjin give his neck a little scratch in praise before then moving him forward into the pace that I believe is called trotting or a trot (horse buffs, help me out here) and riding him up to the other end of the arena.

"Tyra watch this closely. This is called the flying change, when the rider asks the horse to change his leading leg in canter. Basically when a horse canters he strikes out one leg first, look" Agnes begins, leaning closely to me and pointing at the horse. "His left leg is first to fall, in a second Martjin will give him what is called an aid, basically an instruction applied through his hands and feet, and this will ask Aramis to change his leg, and the right will be the first foot fall" she goes on to explain. I think I've got it. When I see it though, I realize why they're sometimes called the dancing horses. He does these little hops almost, three strides where his left leg leads, and then he changes and does three where his right leads. Before you ask me, yes Martjin does make it look remarkably easy when it certainly isn't I can imagine. Aramis looks like he's doing ballet, so graceful and pretty looking for such a huge animal.

I then watch him continue in a circle close to where we are sitting, and then suddenly he slows right down and then comes to a complete stop and faces us, before he rears up on his hind legs and begins to softly jump up and down for a few moments before landing on all fours again. Wow, that's about all I can say. I had no idea you could teach a horse how to do that. This time Aramis receives a big pat on the neck from Martjin, and the horse looks thoroughly pleased with himself as he is praised too. We stay to watch a few more little shows of brilliance before moving on and heading out of the arena back into the stable block to exit and return to the palace. Before we do leave the block though, a large picture on the door of a small room that contains the bridles and saddles catches my eye.

"He was a horseman too then, Joseph?"I ask her as we stop and I jerk my head back in the direction of the black and white photograph of him atop a giant dark coloured horse.

"He adored them. It was a common interest when we first met. I think in our first few months of courtship he spent more time down here than he did with me. The horse he is riding was his fortieth birthday present from me. His name was Arnie and he was a gentle giant, like his owner" she replies, looking at the picture and smiling. It then strikes me that what their common loves were, Agnes took to the lavish. He liked films; she provided thousands for them to choose from. He loved marine life and horses; she built an aquarium and brought him the horse in the picture. When vampires love something, they certainly show it in every way they can. As well as learning more about my kind, I think I've learned one fundamental thing about Agnes today too; she did anything and everything for the one she cared for most. Which is a common theme among some vampires, and that is something else I'm learning more and more every day.

**Authors note - Well here we are, brand new year :) I hope you all had a good festive period. Back to the twice/thrice weekly updates once more. I hope you enjoy xx.**


	44. Chapter 44

Eric's POV.

Waking before Tyra on our third night in Norway, I lie quietly and listen to the sounds from outside the castle. The sounds of the wolves howling, which fill the air in beautiful song. I've always liked the noise, they are very beautiful creatures. Werewolves are a different matter though; there are only a very small handful of them I will tolerate the company of. Even though because we're visiting later in the year and those few weeks make all the difference with the snow fall, as Agnes suggested Tyra cannot go jogging through the woods. The snow is just too deep. But that has not stopped her going out to see them for a little while at some point during the dark hours of the night.

They hardly behave like wild wolves around her either, more like dogs. So delighted to be in her company they are that they bounce around her like young pups, yapping and darting to and fro excitedly. This evening will be no different either, since after she's woken, washed and dressed she heads for breakfast and then I meet her out in the gardens, standing quietly and observing from a short distance. She walks through the gardens with about fifteen of them bounding around after her, circling her and jumping over each other in their haste to remain close to her. Yet they leave her ample room to walk, never getting in her way once. I feel happy to have brought her here, let her be at one with the wild animals she is the governing body of and also learn more about what she is from Agnes' wisdom. My only regret is that I cannot introduce her to more of her kind.

The burden of what she is and the danger that brings wouldn't be as great if she wasn't the only one. Or at least the only identified one so far. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that there could be more of her kind out there, unaware of what they are just as she was before I met her. Perhaps they are safest like that though, unaware of what they are. Sometimes I wish it had been impossible to decipher what Tyra is. It would certainly be much safer for her if we were blissfully unaware of her supernatural status. I cannot think like that though, of what could have been. I just have to deal with it in the here and now and make her life as safe and worry free as I can. At least while we are here that can be achieved nicely though. Even though we've only been here for three days I can see the change in her already. She looks so much more relaxed and happy, and in turn it means I feel more like that too.

I'm enjoying it while I can, for later I will be forced to socialize with Agnes' friends. Even though they are all vampires, and apart from one lady who I haven't seen for two hundred years and look forward to seeing, I'm not relishing it. I'm not very sociable in larger groups. I never have been really; it isn't something specific to being a vampire; even though I've been that for much longer than I was ever human.

"I think I've reached my limit in the cold stakes now. I can't feel my face" Tyra tells me as she begins walking back over to me, turning to nod to her wolves. She discovered a nod can also send them away from her when she leaves their company, and I watch as they scatter back across the gardens into the darker parts on the fringes of the forest.

"Then let me escort you to the nearest tub of very hot water" I reply as I take her hand and we walk back towards the doors. Ten minutes later and her face is cold no more, as she sits at the opposite end of the bath to me and cleanses her face with a strange smelling gel. Why you women invest so much of your hard earned cash in these chemical laced lotions and potions I shall never know. My mother washed with cold water and rubbed frankincense oil into her face and that was all she did. She still looked twenty five at almost thirty five years old. It says something for the simple approach to beauty, but to be fair to Tyra she isn't overly high maintenance with it. I've overheard girls who work for me talking about things way more complex. Electric shock facial treatments for instance, just what kind of special brand of insane do you have to be to do that to yourself? Humans, I don't understand them well. Nor do I want to.

"Do you think you could cope for being away from home for an extra week Tyra?" I suddenly ask her, moving my hand to stroke one of her ankles as she lays back and rests her feet on the edge of the bath near my arm.

"If Cobie could cope with the work I could, but it isn't fair to throw him in at the deep end like that and expect him to do two weeks worth of work at short notice. Why do you ask?" she replies.

"He told you he's been coping okay so far when you called him yesterday though. He's a smart kid, he'd be fine. I ask because I'd like our vacation to last longer. You look so relaxed and happy presently, and I know as soon as we set foot in Louisiana again you're going to be tense again. I know you don't enjoy having to be escorted around, and will not enjoy it to continue either. I'd just like for you to have a little more freedom for a bit longer" I explain, watching her smile.

"That really is a lovely gesture, and I'm very tempted. I'd like to think about it if I can?" she asks me.

"Of course, just let me know by tomorrow so I can make the necessary arrangements before we leave for Sweden on Thursday evening" I reply, watching her nod. To be truthful I'm in no rush to hurry back to the situation back there. I'm not hiding from it, absolutely not. I'd just like for Tyra not to think about it for a while longer, and for her to be completely out of the way while Fabien and Cassius investigate. I'm expecting a call from one of them this evening, quite soon since the door is about to break where they are. It is quite surprising when neither of those two vampires are the one to call me five minutes after I've gotten out of the bath and left Tyra relaxing.

"Stanley, to say you have a nerve is putting it mildly" I answer coldly when I accept the call from the bumbling vampire who got himself exposed to both hunters and sunlight.

"Eric, I know how foolish I was, but I assure you progress has been made. Much more would have too, if I had not been forced to go to ground for a week to replenish from my exposure to the sun and also for my safety. The safety of the vampires who reside at my nest too, I could not bring that sort of trouble to our home" he tells me.

"I'll give you the benefit of the doubt for the moment. Explain, and spare absolutely no detail" I instruct him and I sit down on the couch in front of the fire.

"I've found a source very close to Russell Edgington, who in return for safe shelter against the vampire hunters she has betrayed will be able to give us information. Basically I met her over in a bar just outside of Jackson after watching her leave the mansion one night. I'd seen her there the first night I went up, which was a trip I made alone without Cassius. The second night I followed her to the bar, glamoured her and got the full story. It was only when she was under the spell of my glamour that she revealed to me that because her sister has married a vampire that her opinion of us changed.

She also told me she was too scared to leave the group of hunters for fear of being killed, and too scared to confide in Edgington and come clean to tell him she'd been a spy for hunters for all this time. When I brought her out of it I pressed her to talk coherently to me about it, and I earned her trust when I told her I would give her safety in return for all the information she could provide. She's a very timid girl; someone who I am quite surprised was used as a spy, but she did provide me with some very interesting information" Stanley explains to me at length. I would usually have interrupted such a long winded explanation, but this situation calls for me to acquaint myself with every single last detail.

"And that information is what exactly? Also, how do you know little miss timid can be trusted? Fine, so you glamoured her and uncovered the truth from her, but whose to say she won't change her mind?" I ask him.

"She won't, believe me. I made her trust me implicitly Eric, you know how reassuring I can be" he tells me through a rumble of dark laughter. Certainly it had escaped my mind, the depths of Stanley's deviance. Also though, I know the depths of his womanizing too and am under no illusions that he's probably sleeping with this woman as well.

"So, the information?" I press.

"Yes. It seems that the AVL lied when they said they had him chained up at their headquarters in a silver casket. He's under house arrest Eric, free to move around in his luxurious home comforts unaware to anyone. There are AVL guards on the gates twenty four hours a day, and werewolves patrolling the grounds intermittently throughout the day and night. As you've probably heard from the others, it's like Fort Knox over there, everything is on complete lockdown, and the human staff are paid a handsome enough wage to keep their mouths shut when they leave each morning. Esmeralda is picking up just under $1,000 a week in cash just for being a house maid" he explains.

"Does Esmeralda know why he is being allowed this privilege? Also, just where in this jumbled up story does the part about you being exposed to the rest of the hunters and the daylight come into it?" I ask him, feeling uneasy over the fact our operation could be compromised by these people, these hunters.

"She doesn't but she will keep her ears open and snoop around as much as she can in order to discover this. I have suggested planting bugs on his phone lines so we can keep an eye on him that way, she is wary of the idea but I think I can talk her round. As for the exposure, we were found by one of the hunters while I was hiding from the light and she was just about to leave to return to them. I thought it best to reside in an abandoned building's basement rather than a hotel, in case I was followed with her. I didn't want to be identified by perhaps being followed back to my hotel.

Turns out we were followed, I was pulled into the daylight by silver chains but managed to escape and struck the hunter. I managed a significant blow before they ran, and then Esmeralda helped bury me. I have been in touch with Fabien and he has informed me the hunters have all been dealt with, all bar the one who escaped. Hence why I'm sheltering Esmeralda, and hence why I shall be tracking the hunter again tomorrow. I ran out of darkness before I'd found her tonight, but I have leads. We will get to the bottom of this soon Eric, you have my assurance" he tells me, while I feel my ear practically melting at all the information that's just gone into it.

"Before you put too much trust in this woman, I want to arrange Sookie Stackhouse to come out there and read her thoughts to make sure. This operation must be watertight, and even though you have discovered valuable information, I'm not happy about you placing trust in an unknown. Especially someone unknown to me, so I will have Fabien return to Bon Temps to fetch her, and be with you as soon as possible. Find that other hunter and destroy her, and then report to me again once Sookie has done her job. You have your orders, goodnight Stanley" I tell him, hanging up and then calling both Sookie and Fabien to inform them of my plans. Miss Stackhouse will be escorted to Jackson twenty four hours from now, and Stanley's source can be thoroughly tested for her validity. With that I'm free to enjoy the rest of my night.

Tyra's POV.

"Do you have to do that right in front of me?" Asks Eric as he fiddles with a cufflink, and I fasten the silver garter belt clip around the top of one of my black stockings.

"Yes, I absolutely have to" I tell him with a wink, moving my fingers to clip the other one into place before pulling my wool dress back down to cover them. That doesn't stop Eric from staring lustfully though.

"Dick tease" he mutters at me under his breath, shaking his head and looking amused as his attention falls back to the cufflink. He looks absolutely gorgeous, in a black suit with a very dark blue shirt and no tie. Agnes said smart but not overly formal would do, and I think we both fit that bill just nicely in our chosen attire. The wool dress I have on has long sleeves and hands off my shoulders, the hem just coming a few inches above the knee. On my feet I decide to wear my black suede ankle boots with the six inch heels, bringing me up to a very tall 6ft 3, just a couple of inches shorter than Eric. He likes me uber tall too.

Once we are ready we head downstairs, with Eric telling me along the way that he received a telephone call from Stanley ('the bumbling idiot' as Eric referred to him as before said telephone call) with vital information about Russell Edgington, that he stated he would reveal to both Agnes and me together quietly before we begin our evening in the company of her guests. Heading into her largest sitting room where the gathering is taking place I am introduced very briefly to the few guests already gathered (vampire Jonas Kirkbride and his human wife Marnie, werewolf man and wife Vegard and Heidi Birknes and vampire Elizabeth Danielsen) before Eric asks for a few private moments of Agnes' time, signalling to Ralph that he should be present too. Agnes excuses herself from the small group of guests, and ushers us out and in the direction of her own personal sitting room, where we all take a seat on the chaise's and Eric begins to explain the news given to him from Stanley. Pissed off doesn't even cover how he looks and sounds as he explains Edgington is serving his sentence in the comfort of his own home.

"The AVL never cease to amaze me. Or rather, how easily they can be brought. I can more or less accurately guess that he secretly paid them a very hefty fistful of dollars to be on house arrest. It would explain the heavy security on the front gates of his home for one thing. They're taking no chances with him escaping and making them look like total fools in the process" Agnes says as soon as Eric is done talking.

"Yes, that was my first impression also. He certainly has the wealth to back it up, and the AVL have been running low in their campaign funding so I've heard" Eric replies with clear distaste.

"The NVL wouldn't have been as easily brought would they Agnes?" Ralph then chimes in. I assume he means the Norwegian Vampire League.

"Indeed not Ralph and I suppose this also confirms that since Edgington is a much freer man than we realized at the time all fingers point most definitely in his direction over the sending of the soul reaper. Also though we cannot overlook just how important this Esmeralda woman is going to be in all of this. If the AVL get wind of what he's doing while they've trusted him to behave himself I cannot see that comfortable incarceration lasting very long. I will make enough noise throughout the community worldwide to make sure of that, to let any vampire out there I can know that the AVL have more time for money than they do proper justice. Especially in this case with that jumped up little Celtic brat" Agnes replies, with venom in her tone that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. She's truly frightening if she's even just a smidgen angry.

"Even though he glamoured her and thoroughly questioned her, he cannot see into her head to know if the same has happened before, if Edgington has wiped anything from her mind or implanted something new. So for that reason, and to also attain if this woman has any sinister motives in her union with Stanley I'm having the telepath go up to Jackson as soon as possible to talk to her, before we place too much trust or information in this woman. Right now because of the danger she is in she's trusting Stanley because he's giving her a safe house where the hunters will not be able to find her, but I just want to be totally sure that's the only reason she's stuck herself to him like glue" Eric replies.

"Stanley is a charmer, I'll give him that much. Yes Eric, that is also a wise move to send the telepath to talk to the woman before too much trust is placed" Agnes says, obviously knowing the vampire in question. I found him to be more ignorant than anything else. "With that lady and gentlemen, I would like us to now forget this for the moment and carry on enjoying our evening" she then adds, sealing the conversation tightly shut for now. I know right now though that the news Stanley gave us is playing so heavily on Eric's mind he isn't going to enjoy the rest of the night though. He's going to quietly brood over it, and is likely to work himself up into the mother of bad moods.

To be honest the news hasn't pleased me much either. I don't care of the consequences; if you put Nan Flanagan in front of me know I'd punch her straight in the face wearing a big silver ring. Her public persona is that of a gentle, intelligent vampire who just wants to co exist with humans peacefully, preaching her message that the AVL and all over vampires bear the same face as her. Which face though Nan? From where I'm standing right now she has at least two of them. As I understand it there are only a few vampires superior to her within the AVL, she's a big name there, a decision maker, one of the people who would have decided to let Russell Edgington serve his sentence in comfort rather than agony for a nice little cash payout of a few million or so. It's fucking pathetic. What an insult to the widow and family of that newscaster whose spine he extracted live on air too. I'm not a very sympathetic person, but I feel it for them in the light of this news.

Taking a glass of champagne off a tray of a passing member of the waiting staff (half carry champagne flutes, half blood flutes from fresh donors outside of the room) I take a big gulp and notice the lady vampire who Agnes introduced me to briefly approaching us. Elizabeth is an old acquaintance of Eric's, an old lover to be precise. He's been looking forward to seeing her I know this, but unlike many women would be I am not jealous at all. I'm actually very curious. She was made a little later in years, looking a young forty three and dresses very elegantly.

"Tyra, Eric" she greets us with little nods, taking a sip of blood from the flute her dainty white hand clutches gently.

"Elizabeth" He replies with a small smile.

"Please, do you mind if I steal your lady? The women of the room, myself included are very interested to get to know her" she then asks.

"Ask her, I do not speak on her behalf" he replies chivalrously.

"Of course I don't mind" I tell her, turning to smile at Eric and discreetly kiss his cheek before being lead in the direction of the large couches where Agnes, her casual lover Helene (who I met yesterday for the first time), Marnie Kirkbride (wife of vampire) and Heidi Birknes (wife of were and were herself) are all sitting. Heidi stands and bows immediately, and after I nod to her she laughs shyly and looking like she's testing if she can or not then reaches out to hug me. She relaxes when she feels my hands press her shoulders as I hug her back.

"My queen, I'm so thrilled. So thrilled you are here" she tells me, before composing herself and sitting down next to Marnie.

"As I told Agnes when I arrived I'm thrilled to be here. It's nice to be keeping the kind of company I do not have to hide what I am from, a relaxing change" I reply, all the women nodding knowingly.

"We vampires can of course understand what that is like, hiding what you are" Elizabeth tells me with a slow nod of her head. She speaks just like the Fangtasia DJ Rob does, very slowly and carefully. Although it would seem she isn't affected so negatively by human company as he is though. Then again I do know she's a great deal older than he though. From what Eric has told me in the past of her and her age when they were lovers many centuries ago she'd be around 1,900 and something years old by now. At 170, Rob is still 'irrationally and immaturely pissed off at everything' as Pam so comically words it. They don't get on.

Of course, again I have to relay the story of how I found out what I was, but manage to do it concisely enough. Every so often my mind hits a stumble though, as I imagine Russell Edgington's deep line set chalky face twisting into a sinister grin, knowing he's got one up on Eric and is 'free' of sorts to continue making his life (or existence rather) a misery. Agnes notices it too, she picks up on every time the image flashes into my mind. She must do, because just as I thought about it just then while listening to Elizabeth talk, she mouthed 'are you okay?' silently. I nodded, but she wasn't fooled. She's giving me studious looks every now and then. I'm happy that from then on I'm only asked a couple of things before the conversation moves on and I briefly tell them about my work, before learning a few things about them.

Naturally Elizabeth being typical of her kind is discreet and secretive, only allowing the details she wants to escape her lips. Marnie and Heidi however are a lot chattier, and certainly are the ones who keep the conversation's momentum going. Even though I'm listening to the discussion as it continues from minutes into an hour, I'm barely there. I can feel Eric's own inner feelings too strongly right now, and he isn't happy. It's at this point that my interest in the women surrounding me wanes and my attention is distracted solely by him.

"If you will all excuse me for a few moments" I say politely, excusing myself from the conversation and the couch and walking off towards the very far end of the enormous lounge. This isn't the one decorated in green with a giant bear in the corner, but the taxidermy theme extends to here too. There is a family of albino deer all lying together (a stag, doe and two fawns) to the side of a large zebra hide rug, complimenting the black, white and cream theme of the room. The walls are a deep cream colour and each contains large ornate black framed mirrors and paintings (many by the Californian artist Michael Hussar whose work Eric and I greatly appreciate) and heavy black drapes line the windows that provide a perfect view out into the snow filled gardens. It isn't any of this catching my eye though; it's the beautiful big vampire standing alone quite close to the fire, gazing at the flames looking lost in thoughts.

"You look like you've reached your social limit" I tell him when I reach him.

"I would make more of an effort, but I'm too distracted by Edgington and how he's wormed his way out of his proper punishment, free to do these kind of things with the AVL blissfully unaware, or if they are they just don't care" he replies bitterly, a flare of anger rising in him that I can feel within as well.

'Tell you what, how about we stay another hour just to be polite to Agnes, and then I'll take you upstairs and really help take your mind off everything. And I do mean everything" I tell him in whisper into his ear. He's not himself at all, his mind is very much elsewhere and whereas I do still want to be considerate to Agnes, his comfort is my priority right now

"I like that idea very much" he replies, kissing my cheek and taking my arm to walk me away from the fire. We manage another hour and a half, mostly of me, him and Elizabeth talking before making our excuses (Agnes had of course picked up on Eric's anger earlier in the evening and understood him wanting to leave) we head back upstairs. When we get there it only takes me roughly five minutes for his mind to be well and truly diverted. I drop my dress, walk over to him and kiss him. That's all it takes to ignite the flame, and make him forget what troubles him. I just hope the same works as well when we arrive back home.

**Authors note - A huge thank you to all for the continued interest. From the silent readers to the regular reviewers, you are all cherished :)**


	45. Chapter 45

Tyra's POV.

"I really miss doing this every day. Even though it was only for a week I think I got a little too comfortable with my feet under a desk rather than poking out from under a car" Cobie tells me as he places a fresh cup of takeout coffee down on the desk. We've been home for a week now and today I'm out and about visiting clients with Cobie as my chaperone.

"I have to say it again, because praise where praise is due. You did an excellent job. I almost wish Eric and I had stayed the extra week, but there's just too much going on for that. To do with Russell Edgington as well as other factors" I reply, watching the long and lean teenager arrange himself carefully in a chair on the opposite side of the desk.

"Thanks Madge" he replies, making me laugh at him heartily. Madge, that's his name for me. Short for 'your majesty', and a title I know Peter and Lance would have a fit at him for using in reference to me. Yet I do not care at all. I'm his queen, and he has my permission to call me whatever the hell he chooses. He's so carefree and lovely, nothing fazes him at all. He just takes life totally in his stride. According to the notes Agnes meticulously prepared for me to take home, apparently Wolverina will always feel more akin with werewolves who also have orange eyes when they change.

It was a full moon last night, and Cobie was guarding me until Fabien came along to take over so I saw him in wolf form for the first time then. Let me tell you, quite slight and lean in muscle he may be as a human, but as a wolf he's huge. His wolf form is as stated orange eyed and his fur grey and white, and on four legs his back must reach about 3ft at the highest point. Damn big wolf, just like Peter and Lance too, except their wolf forms are stockier in build. Lance is terrifying when he changes (they also came to see me briefly last night so I'd know what they looked like in wolf form), an absolute beast of a pure black wolf with bright yellow eyes and Peter changing to a very similar colouring as Cobie, but with eyes like Lance's.

"I hate to try and poach you away from Lance, but I do have an idea that you might or might not want to take advantage of" I tell him, quickly finishing the spreadsheet in front of me and then giving him my full attention as I reach for my coffee.

"Really?" he replies, his interest piqued.

"If you can drum up enough extra business for me to warrant it, do you want a job? I do stress it is only if you can land enough extra accounts to warrant it, but it's a challenge I feel you are more than up to" I reply, watching him blink a fee times like he's not quite sure he heard right before his smile begins to grow.

"Seriously? You mean it?" he asks with excitement.

"Only if you can get the accounts, and off the top of my head to make this a viable change I think we'd need to take on the books of another six businesses. So yes I am serious, but I want to see you work for it" I reply, and then burst out laughing with a little shyness when he throws himself forward out of his chair, grabs my face in his hands and presses a huge kiss to my lips with a loud 'MMMMMMWWWWWWAH!' sound effect.

"Don't tell Eric I kissed his girlfriend, I don't wanna be vampire dinner any time soon!" he says as I compose my laughter. He really does tickle my funny bone; he's such a sweet kid.

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind since it was a kiss of thanks and not one with any sexual intentions" I reply.

"No offense Madge but blondes don't do it for me. If you had black hair it'd be a damn different story though" he replies, making me laugh once again. He's so much fun to be around. I like people who aren't guarded, people who just are what they are.

"Remind me to put you on a leash if I ever dye my hair dark again" I reply, making him laugh this time.

"Do I get a matching collar to go with the leash too?" he asks, sending me into laughter all over again. This is the only problem with having Cobie look after me; I don't get much work done because I'm too busy laughing. This is a theme that reoccurs later tonight too when Fabien comes to keep watch over me. When Cassius is watching he stays out in the forest, but Fabien is quickly becoming a friend to me so just invites himself in, usually at the most inappropriate of moments too.

"You just do not believe in knocking do you?" I announce to him after I've stormed off to my bedroom nude after getting out of the bath and wandering around the house for a bit. I'm Swedish, we like being nude. We just like to be forewarned if we've likely to have company when we are. Well, at least I am. Eric really doesn't give a damn.

"It's nothing I haven't seen before though is it Miss B?" he says cheekily in reference to my nudity as I pull on my loose fitting pyjama bottoms and a vest top. Since Eric is coming here a little later (he's busy with work right now) and we're not going out I can be free to lounge in comfy clothes.

"Point taken, I suppose" I reply from my bedroom before resurfacing and giving the tall vampire a dark look. He just raises his eyebrows and looks entertained. He's very much like Eric in personality, but a hell of a lot more upbeat. Also he likes black metal just as I do, so it goes without saying we get on well. You'd probably think it's weird for me to be friends with someone who enjoys watching me and my boyfriend fucking, but it isn't for me at all. I like the fact he likes to watch, because I like being watched. Embarrassment doesn't come into it.

"Aha, good choice" I then comment to him after he's flicked through my I-pod and chosen an album to play, putting it back in the dock as the sounds of the album 'Wrath of the Tyrant' by Norwegian black metal band Emperor fill the room in a quiet roar. Even though it's only been a week that I've scarcely had time to myself because I'm under someone or another's watchful eye, I'm getting used to the almost constant company. It does have a dual purpose though, since I'm not the most social of people I'm making new friends at least. I enjoy spending time with the vampire sitting on the couch opposite me now for instance.

"It just occurred to me that whereas I asked you how your visit to Agnes' palace was, I didn't ask you about your time in Sweden" he asks me with genuine interest in his cool vampiric tone.

"It was nice to go home, even though we spent most of our time having sex. We did get out on the occasional night time hour" I reply, watching him smirk with approval.

"I'd have done much the same" he replies knowingly. Let's just say Elizabeth wasn't the first of Eric's former lovers I've met. I met Fabien weeks before her, and Eric and he enjoyed each other casually way after his time with Elizabeth. Again, it's another thing that just doesn't bother me. If anything I find it very sexy. The thought of seeing them together is quite the turn on if I let the images linger in my mind for too long. So yes, the fact my man is bisexual is no problem at all. "Now he's all yours though, bitch" he adds dryly.

"I know, I've never felt so content to be hated by so many" I reply, making Fabien laugh loudly.

"You'd make such an excellent vampire. Eric should turn you, you've got the right nature for it" he tells me, fixing me with a look that demands some sort of answer. It's needless to say I'm glad to be saved by the bell. Or rather the knock at my front door, which wouldn't be Eric as he just comes right on in. To my surprise it's Sookie standing there when I open it to reveal her and a large bunch of deep red calla lilies in her hands.

"These are for you, and they come with an overdue apology. I'm sorry Tyra. I shouldn't have interfered in your relationship with Eric. You were right. I don't know him like you do. Because you're a smart woman, and a smart woman wouldn't stay with a guy unless he made it worth her while to do so. So there must be something in him you see that no one else does. That no one, lest of all me truly knows either" she tells me after clearing her throat. I take the lilies from her and then smile to reassure her worried looking face.

"I appreciate those words very much Sookie, I really do. Please, come in" I tell her. It was very big of her to do that, to come and offer an apology for being wrong. She's a proud girl, but she's a good person too so this isn't that much of a surprise. Neither is her reaction to Fabien when she sees him either. Oh great, this is all I need. Fabien can be very verbally...playful shall we say.

"Sookie my radiant little southern belle" he says, taking her hand and kissing it. She allows him to, but pulls it away pretty quickly, telling me 'please' when I gesture to the bottle of wine I've already opened. I leave her to fend off Fabien alone for a few seconds while I go and fetch her a glass and put my beautiful flowers in water.

"Fabien, I know vampires don't enjoy being told what to do, but please don't make my guest feel uncomfortable" I tell him as I pass Sookie the glass and then fill it up. He's sat himself about as close to her as he can get without actually sitting on her lap, but looks gracious and moves down to the other end of the couch in an instant at my request.

"So I hear you've been away, how was your vacation?" she asks me politely, the nice friendly balance between us restored now. I'm not angry at her any more, and neither is she with me.

"Oh, we were just discussing that before you arrived, Sookie. Apparently Tyra didn't see much of Sweden, but she enjoyed one of its Vikings greatly. Not that it counts though, since she brought him with her" Fabien says, grinning while Sookie looks embarrassed.

"Fabien, stop" I warn him.

"What? I'm just being truthful. So did you fuck in a sauna while you were there? I know how you Scandinavians like your steam" he replies, raising his eyebrows at me slowly while I begin to laugh.

"Don't be crass when there's a lady present" I tell him, pointing at Sookie while I use my other hand to lift my wine glass to my mouth.

"Two ladies" Sookie chimes in.

"Tyra's no lady. No woman who enjoys the things she does could be classified as a lady" Fabien announces, winking at me.

"He's right, but he also needs to leave it there. Sookie doesn't need to hear anything further" I tell him firmly yet lightly.

"Yes, Sookie doesn't need to hear anything else" the lady herself says while pulling a slightly appalled face.

"You know I'm glad for another reason that you came round to make amends. I've been interested to ask you about this Esmeralda girl, I know she checked out and all but there's nothing like hearing the information right from the source" I ask Sookie, stepping around the conversational white elephant nicely with a genuine question that's kept me thinking.

"She's honestly enamoured with Stanley, lord knows why though" she begins, giving me a look of wonder that I instantly return, Fabien too. Stanley isn't particularly striking, and from what I gather has very little personality too.

"Everything she said checks out though, everything I read in her mind matched what came out of her mouth. She's terrified of these hunters, her sisters vampire boyfriend is young so cannot offer adequate protection for her against all of them should they decide to attack, and she also doesn't want that kind of trouble to come to her family. She's dependant on Stanley for everything. Also she just happens to probably measure 38-28-38, and apparently Stanley likes his gals curvy and Latino too, so you can imagine he's thrilled with the set up" She then continues, pausing to sip her wine.

"He goes from being fuck up number one within area five, to managing to score points with the boss because of his inside contact, and gets laid at the same time. Damn he's good" Fabien says quietly, shaking his head gently as he frowns deeply.

"I think he's genuinely interested in her too. In more than the fact she's got better curves than Jennifer Lopez" she replies, her face betraying her words somewhat, like she's unsure if she believes what she's just said. Fabien's laughter at her words confirms it for her.

"First time for everything I suppose" his says, his voice laced with sarcasm. We leave the current situation and the people involved in Jackson for the moment, and conversation continues until Sookie has finished her wine and made her excuses to leave. The subject does come up again that night, but much later on when the only vampire in my house is Eric.

"I've wondered this for a time, but do you think the AVL would even be interested if you told them of Russell's little stunt with the reaper?" I ask him as I look down at him, his head in my lap as I idly comb his hair with fingertips.

"I'd have to have solid proof it was him first. Even if I had it, they still might not be interested though. He might have paid them enough not to care that he's exercising his relative freedom by doing things like this" he replies, beginning to frown. I haven't spoken to him about it much since we've been home, but that question really has been in the forefront of my mind. If they're letting him stay under house arrest for his sentence, do they even care of his actions on the outside as long as he physically stays inside?

"Tyra, I do not want you to worry any more about this, or concern yourself with questioning it. I will deal with everything, so you don't have to. I shall get something done, a plan formulated, evidence gathered. You have nothing to worry about" he reassures me suddenly, when I feel myself becoming uncomfortably swathed by my thoughts. Of course, he felt it too, just like he can pick up on another worry currently manifesting.

"What else? I can feel something else that isn't right with you. I'm picking up on the fact you're nervous about something" he then asks me, taking my hand not busying itself with his soft blonde hair and holding it tightly.

"Tomorrow night I'm going to my parents for dinner, and I'm going to finally 'fess up about my relationship with you. So yes, nervous is exactly right" I tell him, my face a picture of trepidation he calms with a kiss as he sits up, and then pulls me down into his lap.

"More about how your mother will react than your father I assume? Since you told me he doesn't have a problem with my kind, and your mother..."

"Isn't exactly understanding, nor does she want to be" I interrupt, finishing for him and looking up to watch him nodding.

"Would you like me to be there with you?" he asks me attentively.

"I think that would probably upset her even more to be honest, but thank you for the offer handsome" I tell him, reaching up and stroking his cheek. He does have a very effective way of taking my mind off it though, and taking a few years off the life of the springs in my couch while he's at it too. Trust me, after what he did to me on it I'm surprised it didn't break entirely. That takes up a few hours before I'm ready for bed and another busy day ahead of me, him staying by my side until a little time before dawn when he leaves, with Cobie turning up to replace the watch just as I'm kissing my vampire goodbye on the doorstep. Deciding it's good to get an early start I hop in the shower and then come out to find my werewolf friend and protector has made himself useful by brewing a pot of coffee.

"Man, am I sleepy. But I guess you're worth it" he tells me sweetly, passing me a cup of black with no sugar coffee I thank him for. Suddenly, I watch his face change to very alert, heavily sniffing the air that seems to have grown thick before putting his coffee cup down and unbuttoning his shirt and jeans. Before I know it, he's sunk down and changed into a wolf, running to my front door and pawing it as he looks at me and lets out an urgent, short little whine. I jog over and open up the door, watching his huge wolf form bound out and into the forest at warp speed.

It takes five minutes of me wondering what he heard and smelled, and then ran after before he returns. He taps my door with his paw and I let him in, watching him carrying a small blue charm in his mouth that he sets down on the kitchen floor. He then vanishes down the hallway and I hear a few strange noises I do not go to investigate, before a naked Cobie walks back in and heads straight for his clothes. Good job too, let's just say there is one part of his anatomy that's a hell of a lot more noticeable than the rest, and I don't want to embarrass myself by staring like it's the Washington monument. He's certainly very akin to Eric in the dick department.

"So what the hell was that all about, and what is this little trinket you've brought back with you?" I ask him as he does up his jeans, caging the beast again.

"It was another werewolf, a female, and damn could she run fast. I just couldn't keep up with her and figured I best get back to you since I'd left you unguarded rather than try and catch up with her when I knew I couldn't. As for that, it's a magical charm. Not a good one either, but don't worry whatever it was intended for it isn't going to work. My ex was a Wiccan, and she showed me these a few times. What she told me about disarming it and whatever magic it contains has been something that's always stuck in my head. You just break the circle and it's rendered completely useless" he tells me, picking up his sweater and pulling that back on too. He then picks up his coffee cup and begins sipping from it like nothing even happened.

"Okay, another question. I was lead to believe what you just did, changing form and back again so quickly was something very difficult and very uncomfortable, so how did you manage it like it's something you do every day?" I ask him, the next burning question on my mind.

"Because I do it every day, and yes it is hard at first. Changing when there's no moon always is, but I practiced and practiced and got myself used to being able to change and change back again quickly. I thought it might come in handy one day shortly after my folks told me what I was before I turned thirteen and started to change on a full moon" he replies. Eric is right to constantly remind me of how smart Cobie is. He's certainly becoming a very valuable asset to our side.

"Is it safe if I pick it up?" I ask him while I point to the charm on the kitchen floor between us.

"Of course Madge, I wouldn't have brought it inside with me if it wasn't. It's totally broken, it can't work" he tells me reassuringly as I crouch and then gently pick it up. It kind of looks like a dream catcher, but it has a black crystal circle that's been bitten in half, the thin stands of black thread all broken but still containing tied on bits of some sort of plant, a feather and a black crystal. Taking it with me I walk into the lounge and retrieve my cell, and then take a picture of it in the best light I can, under a lamp in the corner of the room. At times like this I wish Eric was still here. His cell has a twelve megapixel camera; mine only has a very unclear five megapixel, not very mega at all when you see the difference in picture quality.

'Do you know what this is for? Cobie found it outside my house just now. Sorry if this text wakes you; you know I wouldn't disturb you unless it was important x' I text to Deborah, sending the picture attached to the message. If anyone knows of the top of her head, or has the literature to hand in her many books on witchcraft, it's her. With that I try to put my mind to something else, feeling a little on edge but safe that Cobie is here. Whoever put the charm outside was suitably scared off by him anyway. I doubt they'll be back this morning.

I have enough on my mind with the dinner at my parents looming, I could do without worrying about this right now too. Or at least until I get a reply from Deborah. I quickly call Eric and inform him of what's happened, and he listens as much as he can and tells me to send Cobie and the charm to him later after he's taken me to my parents, and Cassius has arrived there to keep a watch. When a vampire feels the dawn, it takes a lot for them to resist the urge to switch off and rest in a totally dead state. Only acts of exertion like sex can ward it off, but still the vampire will be a little slower than normal. Right now Eric is being heavily pulled in by sleep, so I tell him to rest well and hang up before going to get dressed. Cobie and I then sit and work on accounts in my office (he's brought his laptop with him, and I set up the spare table as a desk for him) until nine am before we head out and get breakfast. Then I'm with clients solidly all day, returning home just before five. I have a quick wash and clean my teeth, reapply minimal makeup and change into a pair of blue jeans, my high heeled New Rock ankle boots and a simple long grey sweater. Returning to the lounge I see Cobie putting his cell back in his pocket.

"Eric just called me. He told me Deborah told him about the charm and showed him the picture, and that she didn't have a clue what it was. Apparently she's been trying to get hold of her grandmother all day unsuccessfully. So that's why you haven't had a reply. She's managed to reach her now, so she'll be there when I get to Fangtasia with the charm so she can examine it. If I can, I'll hang around the bar for a while until you get there later, you can tell me how it all went with mom and pop" he tells me as he stands and pulls on his grey beanie hat over his jaggedly cut, spiky light brown hair and picks up his jacket.

"You don't have to, but if you want to I could probably do with someone who drinks to sit and knock a few back with" I tell him. I really do fear I'm walking right into the lions den here. Or lioness' as the case is.

"Optimism Tyra, it's a marvellous thing" he tells me with a wink, jerking his head in the direction of the door. Twenty five minutes later and we've pulled up outside my parents house, Cassius sitting in his sleek black Mercedes G wagon just across the street, flashing his headlights once when we pull up to let us know of his presence.

"Good luck" my werewolf friend tells me as I open the car door.

"Thanks, and thank you for running me over here. See you the day after next" I tell him before getting out and shutting the door. I have a bag of things with me that I'm taking to Eric's, so go over to Cassius and ask him if I can drop them in the car with him.

"Sure, and lots of luck" he tells me dryly as he takes my bag through the window and then places it carefully in the foot well of the passenger side.

"I think I'll need it" I reply as I raise my eyebrows, receiving the same gesture back coupled with a smile that looks more sincere than his words just sounded. With that, I'm off. Off to tell mom and dad that the distant, very distant family member I discovered earlier this year is the man I share my bed with. Oh and the fact that without actually being his wife, I am kinda, in a roundabout way sort of married to him. Bonded, married, same difference except what binds us is invisible. There are no rings and no marriage certificate, but it's forever still. Reaching out to knock their front door, I feel a tight ball of nerves drop in the pit of my stomach, and my heart beginning to beat a little faster. Showtime...

**Authors note - Thank you very much for the continued interest. Just when I think this story cannot possibly get a bigger following you all pleasantly surprise me by adding it to your favourites/story alerts! And welcome new reviewers, I hope to hear more from you guys :) And in reply to the pm I received from you Toni (I couldn't message you back privately since you've disabled that function), all will be revealed my dear, all will be revealed in time ;) x.**


	46. Chapter 46

Tyra's POV.

I'm thankful for the fact that when the front door opened, it was my father on the other side. It means I can take a couple more minutes to compose myself, and be a total chicken and run to the bathroom to call the only person I know will calm me down right now.

"I'm just going to the bathroom dad" I tell him after he's taken my coat and is hanging it up in the closet under the stairs.

"Sure honey, I'll be in the kitchen with mom when you're done" he replies, beaming up the stairs at me as I race for the bathroom and pull my cell from my pocket as soon as I'm in there.

"I'm having a panic, this isn't like me at all and I don't know what to do" I say to Eric as soon as he answers.

"You need to calm down, and remember no matter how upset she might get, she's still your mother, and she's only doing it because she cares. I do agree though, this certainly isn't like you. I wish I had of insisted upon coming with you now" he replies, while I take a big deep breath through my nose. "And remember you've done nothing wrong. You've nothing to feel nervous about, nor feel shameful over either. At the end of it all if your mother cannot handle who you love, that's her problem Tyra. Not yours" he then adds firmly.

"Thanks for that, I'm feeling a little calmer now" I tell him before I say I'll see him in a few hours and exit my hiding place of the bathroom to head downstairs. Time to face the music I think. Well, after we've eaten dinner at least.

"So you and your...I don't know what to call him! Cousin is too much really since he's so distantly related to you and boss sounds too formal" my father begins, asking about my time away with Eric. I told them we were visiting home together, but of course they think Eric and I are just friends, distant family getting to know each other better.

"There is something else you can refer to him as. Something I have to tell you both actually. Its news that is very overdue, since for the last six months almost Eric and I have been in a relationship" I say, feeling a big relief for just coming out with it and being honest with them at last. My dad raises his eyebrows and looks at me knowingly, like he's perhaps suspected as much. My mother however, is not so quiet in her first reaction to the news.

"I'm speechless, utterly speechless" my mother begins, while I wince. When Joyce Jameson states speechlessness, it's usually the farthest thing from what she's actually feeling. She proves this by continuing, very loudly. It's sad how well I predicted her reaction, it really is. I'm just glad I came here prepared for what follows.

"He's a vampire Tyra! I mean for heaven's sake! Why the hell, what the...oh lord I need another drink!" she flusters, while my dad just looks at her and then me. He's about to speak when suddenly her mouth flies open again.

"For the love of god please tell me you're using protection with him! I absolutely shudder to think of the amount of diseases you could catch from a vampire of his age. Let's not even mention the atrocity it'd be if he was to get you pregnant!" she fumes, picking up the glass of wine she's just refilled and taking a hearty gulp while my father and I exchange amused looks.

"Mom, Eric is a dead organism. His body cannot host any kind of STD or disease of any other kind either simply because there's no living tissue for it to attach itself to. He could go out there and have sex with a whole tribe of people infected with HIV and he couldn't pass it on to me. Nothing at all would happen because it is impossible. As for getting me pregnant once again it's a non issue. His sperm are all as dead as he is" I reply while my father nods in agreement.

"She's right Joyce" he chips in. "Tyra has more chance of getting pregnant with a dildo than she does with Eric". This cuts the tension level from my perspective at least, as I begin to laugh inappropriately. Inappropriate it is since my mother is almost seething.

"Al, I know you employ them and don't have a problem with them. But this is our only child here! Please don't tell me this 'relationship' you have with him is serious sweetheart, please" she replies, to my dad firstly then to me.

"Mom, you need to just calm down and listen to me. Let me tell you about him and why he makes me very, very happy. As for your comment about it being serious, well it is. We're very serious about each other" I tell her as I watch her build up for another tirade.

"I will not listen! They're evil blood suckers my gal, all we are to them is food and something to play with. This is a bad idea, a very bad idea" she tells me, while tucking her hair behind her ear for the umpteenth time. She always fiddles with her hair when she's stressed.

"Honey that isn't fair, you're basing your opinions of vampires on very limited knowledge of them" my father manages before she's firing at the mouth like a machine gun again.

"I know I worry about my daughter working for them enough as it is, and you employing them too. I really do not relish the idea of her bringing one into the family fold! Not one little bit!" she spits in reply.

"I don't relish being spoken about like I'm not here mom!" I fume, my temper by now getting the better of me. I hate it when people shoot off at the mouth over a subject they know very little over, and think they're ill informed opinion actually has any weight behind it.

"So he's fooling you into thinking he actually cares for you huh? I thought you were a lot smarter than that, unless he's just using that mind control thing they do on you. What's it called a glimmer?" she asks. My father is straight in there before I can answer her.

"It's called a glamour, and before you open your mouth and say anything else stupid it's Tyra's turn to talk. Sweetheart, tell us more about him. So far all we know is that he's a bar owner and a former Viking over a thousand years old, and that he's your very distant family" my dad asks me, his eyes so full of kindness and understanding as always. He's such a non judgemental man.

"See! There's two other things right there. You're having a sexual relationship with a something that died over a thousand years ago. It's disgusting you even let him touch you, let alone anything else. Urgh, the thought makes my skin crawl. Then there's the fact you're related to each other, its sick Tyra. Even worse than what you let a dead man do to you. My stomach turns with how revolted I am right now!" my mother interrupts sharply.

"Joyce!" My father growls sternly in warning, fixing her with a look that says 'you need to shut up'. I'm glad when she drops her head from his gaze and remains silent.

"Well he was a Viking chieftain before he died and a widower too. He lost his wife and his five children to fever a few months before he was made vampire" I begin, watching my mother just gape and my father look sorrowful.

"The poor man. That must have hit him hard" he sympathises.

"It did. He's never forgotten her or his kids, deep down he treasures their memory very much. He's seen and done so much in all the centuries he's been here, I mean I really only know the half of it so far, but it's absolutely incredible to sit and listen to him talk of the world how it once was. I feel like I learn something new from him every day, he's astoundingly intelligent. He's very concise though so I always have to prompt him to talk more. He's just fascinating dad, he's not overly warm or friendly at all and he really doesn't like humans, but he's wonderful to me. Very caring and very protective of me, he always puts me first in everything. Even though at the start it wasn't like that. We were too busy telling each other to fuck off because we didn't want to admit we liked each other" I reply, speaking to my dad more than my mom. He nods and looks completely enthralled all the way through my speech.

"Ahhh, that is often the way when you like someone and do not want to admit it. The 'I hate you more' game!" He laughs. I bet my mother is still quietly boiling over that my dad is just acting so casually. This is him though; he just takes everything in his stride.

"Yes, it was exactly that! But we're so over all that now. We're just concentrating on our relationship and both making an effort with it. He's doing so well, he hasn't been involved with a woman on this level since he was a human" I reply.

"I can imagine that took him a lot of adjustment" my dad replies. See, this is how it should all be going, a nice little discussion rather than ill informed opinions being shouted.

"Well I'm glad one of us thinks all this is just peaches and cream" my mother then interjects sarcastically.

"Just to add to you too mom, your earlier comment about him glamouring me. It doesn't work on me, he can't do it. So I'm under no spell other than the fact I'm in love with him. It's all real, from both our points of view. Bearing that in mind, is there anything you want to ask me? Anything else I can tell you that'll reassure you?" I ask her calmly.

"Tell me you're finishing with him, and I'll be reassured then" she replies, not meeting my eyes. This is how she gets when she's mad; she refuses to look you in the eye.

"Please mom" I venture, reaching for her hand that she snatches away from within my reach.

"Please mom NOTHING. You're acting like an idiot Tyra, and that's all I have to say on the subject" she shouts at me, before getting up and leaving the dining room with the obligatory slam of the door behind her. The first thing that comes out of my mouth in the wake of that is a big sigh. I did want to tell them both about everything else too. Completely come clean about my supernatural status, my present danger because of it, and the bond I've entered with Eric. She's made that impossible with her small mindedness though.

"She'll come around, just you see. I'll talk to her again on your behalf when she's calmed down. She's just worried honey, but I intend to make her see she has nothing to worry about. My night duty manager Martin Cooke came in on the way to the airport to drop in a birthday gift of a bottle of wine for me before he and his wife flew off on their vacation. She didn't even have a clue he was a vampire until after they'd left, she just said 'what a decent and thoughtful man' before I told her what he was. Then she stated she never wanted him in her home again" he replies, while I just roll my eyes.

"She gets worse" I comment.

"I hope this is one thing she can get better with though" he tells me, giving my hand a good supportive squeeze.

"Dad, there is a lot more about all this that I need to tell you. If I'd have tried to have told you before mom would have had a full on heart attack, but you need to know. One of you at least needs to hear this" I reply, feeling nerves begin to rise all over again. Not at my father's reaction to what I am, but his reaction to the fact that I'm in danger because of it.

"My ears are open, you tell me everything. You know you can. I will not utter one single word until you've finished" he tells me. With a deep breath and a mouthful of red wine, I begin, and I tell him absolutely everything. It takes me almost ten minutes of talking solidly to inform him of everything from the time I first met Eric, including everything about our little war against each other, finding out what I was, and absolutely everything else too. When I'm done there is nothing my father does not know, and to be honest he looks pretty dazed at the moment as he sits and digests all the information I've just given him.

"Do it, make your eyes go orange, I wanna see!" is the first thing out of his mouth, which does make me laugh.

"I can't do it on command daddy" I reply while he laughs along too before coming back to serious.

"I will not lie, I am concerned for you. Very concerned, but knowing you have one hell of a powerful vampire doing all he can to protect you fills me with satisfaction that you are most definitely with the right person. If he didn't care about you he'd just put a price tag on your head and auction you off to the highest bidder, if he really was as heartless and devious as your mother assumes he is" he replies.

"Once upon a time he might have done that too. As I've said Eric isn't very moral and he isn't very friendly either unless he likes you. Then he's okay. If he hadn't have fallen for me or if I wasn't his long lost family, things could be very different though. I'm not naive enough to not notice that".

"And there's the fact you're bonded to him. What a lovely thing, having two different supernatural creatures just made for each other, and to learn that there are such things are werewolves, oh my gosh! How incredible!" he tells me, his face alight with keen interest. "So is it actually like a marriage? Was there a ceremony? I have to say, I'd be very disappointed I missed it if there was" he then adds.

"Well you'd be glad actually. There's no ceremony, it's a blood exchange. It's technically like a marriage, except we will never want to leave each other so there's no such thing as divorce, and I don't call him my husband and we don't have wedding bands. It's more in the spiritual sense that it's like we're husband and wife" I tell him as he nods in understanding, cringing a little at the blood exchange part.

"Apart from this danger you being a Wolverina poses, I have to say I'm all for this. It's about time you settled down, and I cannot think of anyone better to be honest. I know we've spoken in the past of how difficult you were finding it to find a man who didn't want to have children, and since Eric can't father offspring anyway then that won't be a problem. Your mother still hopes you'll make her a grandma though, I've always respected your decision that you don't want to have kids though" he tells me, while my inside breathe a partial sigh of relief.

Of course I'd love both of my parents to be happy with this, but having just one is better than neither. Better than both of them being against Eric and me. I leave little over half an hour later, not wanting the atmosphere in the house between mom and dad to be even worse because of my ongoing presence.

"I'd love to come and meet him some time, would you suggest it to him and see what he thinks? I know he isn't very human friendly, so I'm prepared to do it all on his terms" my dad tells me as he hugs me tightly on the doorstep.

"I will, I'm on my way over there now so I'll ask him a little later" I reply.

"Once you've sat and talked about this witchcraft business, about that little charm that Bobby found this morning"

"Cobie, and yes after that" I correct him when he gets Cobie's name wrong.

"Cobie, that's it. Well I hope you manage to find something, and pin it to that scumbag over in Jackson. If it would help I'd load a gun full of silver bullets and go blast a big fucking hole in his guts, but if it was that simple I guess someone would have done that already" he tells me.

"Yeah, I'd have done it" I reply, making him laugh knowingly. He knows my evil streak isn't beyond blowing away a vampire who is pissing me off to put it mildly. We say our final goodbyes for the evening and I promise to call him tomorrow after I've spoken to Eric and with that jump into the waiting G wagon that takes me back to Fangtasia in relative silence. Cassius isn't a particularly chatty vampire. He asks me how it went, I tell him badly with my mother at least and that my father understood, and he nods. That's it. Needless to say I'm very, very happy to finally get back into my vampire's arms.

"It didn't go well then?" he asks as soon as he holds me to him, steering me away from the people gathered in the room (Cassius, Pam, Beth and Cobie) so we can talk more privately. He's of course picking up on my emotions, like we now can with each other very clearly.

"My dad was great, my mother not. She thinks I'm disgusting for being with someone I'm related to, no matter how distantly. Also the fact you're dead cuts absolutely no ice with her either. She was thoroughly unpleasant about it. I told dad absolutely everything though, and he's fine with all of it. He's on my side" I tell him, watching him look unimpressed about my mother with a frown that doesn't vanish totally for a good few moments.

"One parent being supportive is better than nothing at all. You have that at least" he tells me, resting his forehead against mine and kissing my cheek before walking back over to the couches where everyone is assembled, leaning against an old writing desk he barely uses rather than sitting down. I take a seat close to where he stands and prepare to be filled in on anything I've missed.

"Cobie, if you would like to show Beth the charm you found this morning" Eric says, informing me that I haven't missed a thing with those words. Cassius and I could not have timed our arrival better. I look to the young werewolf and watch him retrieve the charm from his pocket, and then place it into Beth's outstretched hand across the table.

"My...word...that's...old" Beth speaks very slowly eventually, and with disbelief in her voice as she looks at it carefully.

"You recognise it then?" Eric asks her immediately.

"I do. It's very old, very complex and very evil magic. I hex charm, intended to curse the home it's placed outside of. It uses magic to suck all the air out until the person or people inside cannot breathe. The witch who is casting the spell either goes in to attack, or retrieve whatever it is they want while the inhabitants are suffocating. Then take the charm away once they're done. Or they just let them die" Beth replies in her usual blunt fashion. That would explain the air density I felt just before Cobie exited my house in hot pursuit this morning. I can't help but feel a little unsteadied by the news that once again my life was in very real danger.

"How many witches do you know of who would be knowledgeable, not to mention powerful enough to undertake such a task?" Eric then asks her.

"Within the Louisiana area there are three, Mississippi perhaps two. I'm well connected with the witches in our closest neighbouring states. I can narrow it down even further for you too. I'm one of the three here that could do this, but of course you know I wouldn't. Just to check I would be prepared to be glamoured and questioned too. I understand your trust levels must be low right now" Beth begins.

"Not with you Beth" he cuts in. She nods in acceptance of the assurance.

"One of the other two is no longer physically able either, since she's one hundred and six years old and blind and deaf" she then adds. "Which leaves you three, two there and one here. If you want to loan me a vampire for protection, just in case, I will go and question Deidra Longborne right away. He'll do" she finishes, pointing at Cassius.

"Cassius take Beth wherever she needs to go, and protect her at all costs" he tells Cassius, who nods and stands, waiting for Beth to totter over with the aid of her sheep horn handle, highly polished wooden walking stick firmly in hand.

"Eric, can I suggest an idea I've had about all this?" Cobie pipes up after the elderly lady and the big black vampire have left the room, with Cassius actually showing a gentlemanly side by allowing Beth to take hold of his arm to steady herself.

"Please do. I welcome any thoughts on this matter right now" my vampire replies.

"Do you think that it might not be Russell doing this? I had a very concerning thought just the other night, about exactly what Tyra's blood could be worth on the black market. Which lead me to wonder if it's a group of drainers experienced in the occult who have somehow discovered what she is, and those are the people currently doing all this magical deviousness to try and get her for that reason?" he suggests, while Eric stands there and thinks for a few moments.

"It's certainly a possibility Cobie, I'll give you that, but we've kept this secret so closely guarded there isn't anyone who would betray my trust and sell her out like that. Those in the know were very, very carefully selected for their loyalty so I'm at a loss to how a group would have discovered what she is. Unfortunately though, if word does get out it will be something we must consider as a future threat" he replies, while suddenly I feel the pressure that's been building inside my chest since my confrontation with my mother erupt.

"Excuse me" I say, exiting my seat and running across then out of the apartment at speed, able to hear Pam say 'no, I'll go' before suddenly she's in front of me on the stairs.

"First all that shit with my mother, then finding out someone wants to suffocate me to death or do lord knows what to me, then hearing I'm going to be a target for drainers for the rest of my life. I'm never going to be free Pam, never!" I say before embarrassingly I just burst into tears and crumple into her as she sweeps me up in a hug. She doesn't say a word other than soothing me with a soft 'shhhh', she just picks me up and carries me up the stairs, putting me down into a chair when we reach the office and excusing herself. She's back in five seconds with a bottle of gin and a glass.

"If I was human, or at least a Wolverina like you with more emotions than a vampire, I'd be crying right now too. Don't be embarrassed about it; you've got a tonne of shit on your shoulders right now. It's a heavy load to bear" she assures me as she pours me a drink I sink in one, wisely leaving the lid off the bottle so she can pour me another.

"When we were away, Eric told me he wished we'd never discovered what I was. He told me if he could have foreseen all the trouble it would stir up and all the danger I'd be in he'd have been happy to settle what I was as a mystery and just leave it alone. I'm inclined to agree with him. I wish I never knew what I was, I wish I was just a normal person" I reply as she takes my hand and gives it a hard squeeze of understanding.

"I can imagine as much, I really can. You're an incredibly strong woman, and to see you crumble like that was sad for me. Your distress concerns me, I just wish there was something I could do to take it all away. The only thing I can do is to just pledge to look after you as best I can, and ply you with gin when the going gets even tougher" she replies with a smile, making me laugh a few bursts and accept the third gin she pours into my glass. Just then there's a little tap at the door, and Cobie appears when Pam shouts 'enter'. He looks so sorrowful, and almost has me in tears all over again when he walks around the desk and crouches at my feet, putting his arms around my waist and his head in my lap.

"I'm so sorry my queen. I know it was what I said that made you bolt like that. I didn't mean to distress you, I just wanted to help" he tells me, while I stroke his hair and lean down to kiss the side of his head. I feel the measure of his sorrow in the fact he called me 'my queen', which he rarely does.

"Don't you apologise, you are right I know all you wanted to do was help. It's not just what you said that made me crack" I tell him, watching him suddenly shoot up and look a bit scared when Eric walks in.

"It's okay Cobie. My woman she may be, but she's your queen. I shall never frown upon on your for embracing her" he assures the young were upon his entrance. Damn, that's very mellow for someone as possessive as Eric, but I think he senses I need no more drama or upset right now. I just need to be alone with him, which my mood is able to convey over to him since he asks Pam and Cobie to leave before taking back downstairs. To be alone with Eric is all I want right now, because I really do not know how much more of this strain I can take.

**Authors note - Thank you so much everyone for the continued reads and reviews! I'm up to chapter 53 in the writing and only just now gathering ideas for the ending and how I'm going to write it. I want to do the story justice with a good ending yet at the same time I've grown so attached to this story I really am dreading writing the end! xx**


	47. Chapter 47

Eric's POV.

"Is this more to your comfort level right now" I ask Tyra as I lie on the couch, with her lying on top of me in my arms.

"Yes, anything with zero stress is to my liking at the moment" she replies quietly.

"Don't you worry, the rest of our evening will be quiet and stress free. I'll ensure it" I tell her. I won't be sitting upstairs for the benefit of entertaining the masses with my presence tonight. I'll be right here where I'm needed most, calming down my stressed out lady.

"I think I need another vacation" she tells me, while I laugh quietly.

"When all this blows over, you pick any place in the world where you want to visit and we shall go there. Deal?" I ask her, stroking her hair.

"Deal" she replies, kissing my chest through my t shirt and relaxing against me. We stay like that, like two twins curled around each other in a womb for an hour until the ringing of my cell disturbs us.

"Eric, Deidra Longborne is the witch behind it. She's been glamoured heavily, so heavily I cannot get through a lot of it. She just doesn't remember the first time she was used, she's been erased it would seem. Except for this time with the charm which she does remember, which leads me to believe Russell wanted her to be caught. I do not trust that right now we're not being watched either; I need you to come and meet me to get both witches out of here under safe guard. Something tells me this is a trap to ensnare the help of the witch closest to you, I cannot think of another reason for it. Edgington would know Beth would be used to question the other witches of the area. I smell a set up Eric" Cassius tells me with all the urgency a vampire can muster.

"It would make absolute sense, well observed Cassius. I'll be there soon" I tell him, hanging up and returning my cell to my pocket.

"Cassius feels like he's about to be trapped. It turns out Deidra is behind the attacks so far, and that she's been glamoured to do so. But it appears she remembers her last outing to your home, or at least it's surrounding area. Which means Edgington wanted her to be caught. If I let them stay there long enough without my protection they could slay Cassius and get to Beth without me ever knowing. Times like this I'm glad he's so sharp" I tell Tyra as I untangle myself from her embrace and head over to where I left my jacket.

"Will you be gone for long?" she asks me, getting off the couch and walking over to me.

"No, Cassius just text through the address, I shall be there and back in half an hour. She doesn't live too far from here. You stay down here until I'm back, I'll let Pam know of the situation" I tell her, bending to kiss her.

"Okay, you hurry back to me though. And be careful" she tells me, kissing me again before we let each other go and I head out at speed, hearing her click the door shut behind me. Almost every day it seems a little piece of this puzzle fits into place, and I count each one as a day closer to ensuring my lady will be safe from Russell Edgington forever. Flying through the night I arrive at Deidra's house within ten minutes of leaving my club, Cassius answering the door with Deidra inviting me in with a shout from the lounge.

"Eric, please, I didn't know what I was doing, please, do not harm me. I know you could kill me before I could muster any magic to save myself" the woman begins to plead with me.

"You are in no danger, from me at least. Cassius, how did you discover it was her exactly?" I reply to her, and then ask him.

"Well apart from being able to detect a glamoured mind, she had a huge memory gap from the night the soul reaper was sent as well so I put two and two together and naturally, what I came up with was correct. Under my own glamour she revealed to me it was Edgington and his consorts who forced her to do the magic" he replies, while I nod swiftly.

"We need to remove them both from the premises and get them back to Fangtasia for the moment. I'll decide what to do next when we get there" I tell him. The women gather themselves together while we wait, and it is in those few moments of waiting that I feel something close to a punch in the guts ripple my insides. I'm picking up on Tyra, and right now she's in danger. The kind of danger she cannot get herself out of either.

"Eric, what is it?" Cassius asks me.

"The trap wasn't for you two. It was for me" I tell him, but before I can disappear to her aid my cell begins to ring.

"What?" I answer.

"Missing something?" says a familiar voice, laced with sinister smugness that confirms what I can feel. If I had a heartbeat, right now it would stop as what has happened rushes over me and I'm moving through the air back to Fangtasia as fast as I possibly can. Yet as I enter I know it's too late, I can't feel her here. He has her. He tricked me and now he has her and I cannot even detect where to begin looking for her since I cannot even feel her at all right now. All I can feel is the kind of rage rising within that I haven't felt since my family were slaughtered, by the very man who now has my beloved in his clutches. Heading back up the stairs again, burning with fury suddenly I feel a hand slap a big block of silver to my chest, and then two AVL guards lock my arms together at the wrists in silver handcuffs.

"Eric Northman, you are being detained for illegally allowing feeding and a human death on the premises; the drained body we've discovered in your basement is evidence enough. Take him away" Nan Flanagan says before against my will I'm hauled through the club, another chain being added around my neck as I successfully begin to struggle against them. Then I can fight them no more, but still the anger within me burns worse than the silver.

Ten minutes ago back at Fangtasia...

Tyra's POV.

Little over five minutes after Eric has left, when I'm just thinking about going to run myself a bath to sink into along with a glass of ice cold gin, an almighty banging noise begins to come from above. Because we're so far down you can barely hear goings on from the club above, so I am somewhat surprised and curious enough to leave the apartment and go out into the hallway. I can hear shouting and screaming and chaos, with a female voice telling everyone to 'keep calm and no one will be hurt. We're here officially'. Just before I can wonder further as to what kind of officials they are, I get a text from Pam.

'AVL raid, lock yourself in the apartment and stay there. I'll knock once then call your cell when it's me outside the door, just so you know it is me x' I read, but before I can turn and do exactly as she's instructed me, I hear a creak and then the thud of the rear door of the basement opening. Deciding to quickly check it out I leave the apartment door open and begin to walk silently down the hallway.

Moving very quietly up the stairs I can see the basement door is ajar slightly, and so I creep up the remaining steps, past the open office and up to it to peer inside. The noise upstairs in the club is heightened by the fact the music has been shut off, and I can hear boots marching across the floor above loudly and people shouting. What concerns me most though is not what I can hear, but what I can see at the moment, which is someone dragging a dead body into the basement via the door at the back. This has to be connected to whatever the raid upstairs, my mind is sharp enough to realize this is probably a diversion to prevent anyone finding out a body is being planted on the premises, for whatever the exact reason is. I can deduce easily enough it's something being done to set up Eric though, my mind is ultra suspicious right now for obvious reasons.

So in order to have evidence of my suspicions, I take out my cell quickly and begin filming into the basement, poking my hand around the door while the bulk of me remains hidden behind it. I can just about see the person (I think it's a Were though as I can smell him, and I'm getting used to the fact werewolves smell a little different to humans) who is towing the body in, tall with dark short hair. I see him slump the body down, and feel so sad when I see the victim is only a young man of about twenty who has been drained by a vampire, the tell tale fang bite marks still oozing a blood down his white t shirt. What happens next takes me by surprise so quickly that I'm barely able to scatter away from the door fast enough to prevent it being swung open into my head, which is what happens. Suddenly I'm then grabbed by something much stronger than a Were and realize that it's a vampire that has me.

"Get that bag over her head before she looks at you and kills you" the vampire instructs as I thrash around and wriggle to get free. I bite, kick, punch and scratch in an attempt to free myself, yet my attempts are futile. Through the struggle, through my fear that my worst nightmare is happening, something rational in my head tells me I have to hide the evidence I have caught, so just before the darkness of the jute sack being pulled over my head I manage to wriggle and bend at the waist, lowering myself all I need to throw my cell across the floor of the open office door and watch it slide under a filing cabinet.

"PAM! PAM!" I scream before suddenly I'm hit over the head, and the sharp pain I feel at the side of my skull is the last thing I can remember...

Coming around slowly, the first thing I can sense is the intense cold wherever I am right now. I can also feel grit against my cheek, and metal around my hands and feet. I don't want to open my eyes, not yet. For the first time in my life I'm genuinely scared, terrified right now because I've been taken away from Eric. I'm all alone, and at the disposal of whoever has me.

"Are you awake over there blondie?" I hear a thick, gruff voice speak, and the squeaking of the chair he lifts himself out of, walking over to me and crouching down to stroke the hair away from my face.

"Well ain't you pretty" he tells me before laughing sinisterly, still stroking my cheek until I turn my head and bite his thumb hard. He yanks his hand away with a growl of pain, and my action earns me a kick in the stomach when he stands up. I groan and curl up into a ball, breathing heavily through my nose and tensing myself against the pain. I won't let him show how much that hurt, whoever he is.

"I'm Brendon, and I'm gonna be looking after you while you stay here with my boss, Mr. Edgington. He'll be along soon to see you, his new pet Wolverina" Brendon tells me while I breathe my way through the worst of the pain inflicted to my gut via his heavy boot. Moving my hands I force myself to sit up, pushing myself up off the floor I open my eyes properly to take in my surroundings for the first time.

I'm in a basement, a huge basement in fact. The part where the chains bound to cuffs around my hands and feet are attached to the wall is the narrowest and smallest of it. I can see a staircase that leads down in the near distance, behind Brendon the bastard, and there's an alcove in the wall that looks like it was an archway to another part of the basement that has been bricked up. It's cold, damp and dirty. I didn't expect to be kept in much better conditions though. When I blink my newly opened eyes reveal something else to me, something that wasn't there before. 'Something' because I will never refer to him as 'someone', parasite that Russell Edgington is.

"Hello Tyra, charming to see you again my dear" he drawls as he steps closer to me slowly, and then stands over me.

"I'm not your dear" I spit, determined not to show any weakness. If they see that in me, I'm done for.

"You are mine completely now, so get used to it. Your Viking will be in no position to come and rescue you for the foreseeable, and even if he was, he won't even be able to come within fifty feet of you. Ever, so you can kiss him goodbye. You'll never see him again" he tells me simply; while I let myself feel what Eric is feeling right now. White hot rage is what I pick up on, absolute demented anger.

"What have you done to him?" I snap, glaring up at his chalky white face as it twists into a bigger grin.

"It's not what I've done to him that you should concern yourself with right now. You see I plan on putting you to use now you are here, I'm not just taking you because it'll break Eric to pieces to be parted from you. I know you're close to him, I know how close too. I've seen the state a vampire can get in when forced to be apart from his Wolverina, I saw it in the faces of the vampires whose wives I took from them. I knew what you were when you cuffed yourself to me all those months ago, but I thought I'd wait this long just to make it really sting him to be parted from you. Now you are here you will earn your keep, because surely Tyra, you've seen what your energy does to Eric, your blood too. Now the only source of the all strengthening Wolverina blood in the entire world is mine, to do with as I wish. As is the rest of you, but I'll leave that for Brendan" he replies, before vanishing again. I don't need anything more than that to work out why I'm here. If I did, the proof of it arrives in the basement in the form of a female vampire with a tray in her hand.

Upon it there's an IV line, transfusion bag, box of medicated swabs and hypodermic needle. She crouches by my side and takes a swab, then grabs my arm hard and wipes my inner elbow.

"Stay still" she warns me darkly, before squeezing my upper arm so hard tears come to my eyes, and then sticking the needle right into my vein. She then attaches the IV line to the back of it and begins to take blood from me. I revert back to Cobie's question here; I wonder how much my blood is worth on the black market? I have to think like this, I cannot let the reality of the situation set in yet. I can't even think about what he's just told me about me never seeing Eric again. Right now I don't even want to contemplate what he's had done to him to stop him coming after me. I can feel he's incarcerated somewhere now, and livid, so livid. It's his burning rage that gives me courage right now.

I have to be realistic, I had visions of what would happen to me should I ever be abducted by an enemy. Taking my blood is one of them. I just didn't expect I'd be hooked up ready to be his cash source via IV quite so quickly. If I think like this, think of the reality rather than the 'why is it happening to me' line of thought then I'll get through it until I'm rescued. I am totally confident someway, somehow, Eric will rescue me. It will take a hell of a lot to shake my faith in that. I feel a little light headed since I've just had just over half a pint of blood taken from me, but not light headed enough to realize that the reference Russell made to Brendan is now about to happen now the female vampire has left.

"So then beautiful, it's just you and me. And hopefully, we're gonna make ourselves a little baby girl" He tells me. Taking my blood, I can just about handle that. Taking that part of me, well let's just say he's got as much fight as I can give on his hands. He will not take that from me easily. He kneels down in front of me and I act submissively as he starts to undo his belt, before kicking out with my leg and aiming my foot for his throat. I get him right in the windpipe and he rocks back coughing, and then aims a punch for my face that I'm quick enough to dodge, realizing I can stand up and scrambling to my feet, kneeing him in the face as he tries to grab me again and breaking his nose. He roars in agony. This time when he grabs for me he doesn't miss, tricking me into thinking he's making a grab for my arm before ducking to take my legs out from under me, sending my body crashing to the ground and covering it with his. He pins me to the floor with the weight of his chest, his short stubbly dark beard prickling me as he takes a long, slow lick at my cheek.

"I'm sure gonna enjoy this" he tells me as I feel his hands yanking my jeans and underwear down. I try and kick out, thrashing as much as I can underneath him before he grabs my face and smacks my head backwards off the floor, making my vision blur and my skull throb. He didn't do it hard enough to knock me out, to spare me what he's about to do to me.

"Now, give me what I want" he tells me once his yanked my jeans and his pants down. I feel him let go of his grip around my arms for a second, a second long enough for me to scratch his face, an action that earns my hand to be slammed to the floor so hard I feel something crack, and then feel him force my legs apart and with one thrust enter me. My whole body tenses and I feel bile rise in the back of my throat, especially when he pins my arms to the floor and kisses me, groaning with lust while I screw my eyes tightly shut and think of anything I can to try and zone out from this and leave the moment mentally. I have to, not just for me, but for Eric too. I don't want him to feel this, to know what's happening to me. I have to spare him this; I love him too much to let him feel it too. So I shut myself down and try, I try so hard to think of anything but this.

The pain, the tearing of my most sensitive womanly area rips through me as I think of everything I can that isn't this. I think of Eric smiling down at me, how his body feels against mine, cool and odourless instead of hot, overly hairy and scented with body odour like that of Brendan. I think of Lafayette making me laugh with one of his stories, I think of Cobie being 'inappropriate' as Lance or Peter would word it; I think of everything I can, but nothing can dilute the fact that right now I'm being raped. Raped to produce a little girl, with god knows what price tag upon her head.

With a grunt and a few frantic thrusts he climaxes, lying on top of me heaving and panting after his two minute performance. Wow, two whole minutes. What a man.

"I enjoyed that greatly, same again soon huh blondie?" he tells me.

"Oh you're done? Sorry, I was about to ask if it was in yet" I tell him, not content to let him think he's broken me just because he's forced me into sex against my will. I receive a fist to the stomach for that, and actually do throw up this time. It's a shame it's to my side and not all over him as I turn over and heave my guts up, my bare legs pressing against the cold floor.

"Some advice for you bitch, quit getting smart with me or I'll fuck you up so badly your vampire wouldn't even recognise you if I stood you in front of him. Or want you even if he did. If by some small stretch of the imagination you two do ever see one another again, the smell of me all over you would put him off for good" he tells me while laughing, and then for good measure giving me a kick in the ribs. I fall face first into the vomit I just threw up, scrambling off my face and pulling up my jeans as he continues to laugh at me.

"Not so pretty with dinner all over your face huh?" he tells me, picking up a handful and further smearing my face in it, making me wretch. "What, is it because I'm warm that I don't do it for you? I think I'm quite a catch, I mean look at me, really look at me" he then adds, dragging me up off the ground and staring right at me.

"Tell me how hot I am" he instructs.

"Fuck you" I tell him. Bang goes one fist to my jaw.

"TELL ME!" He roars.

"You're a lousy sack of shit human with a four inch penis. Again, fuck you" I tell him. This time he punches me so hard I don't wake up again until hours later, 8am the next morning to be precise. Lying there freezing cold, shaking and covered in the stale smell of my own vomit, with Brendan still there keeping guard over me. I turn over and face the wall, hearing my chains rattle as I bend my arm and rest my head down on it, curling up into a ball and hurting all over.

I wish he'd hit me again to knock me out, and save me the pain of my bleeding vagina, my various cuts and scrapes, my swollen wrist and face and my pounding, lumpy head. Inside my head I keep repeating the following like a mantra to keep me calm. 'Eric will find me, Eric will find me, Eric will find me'. I have to cling to something right now, to escape the grim reality that if he cannot get me my life from now on in will be like that of women such as Elizabeth Fritzl, daughter of Joseph Fritzl the evil Austrian man who kept his daughter and their inbred children down in a basement for decades. Except she had amenities, all I have are chains and a floor. I miss home so much. I miss Eric so much.

Eric's POV.

I always knew the AVL was a bad idea. I always hated the fact we suddenly had a political and public representation in these vampires. These vampires I've never fully trusted, with good reason too since I'm currently languishing in a silver lined cell. A cell I've been punching the walls of despite their burning lining, because of what I can feel Tyra going through. I know I've been set up so I cannot help her. Edgington's men planted the corpse in the basement before they snatched Tyra and tipped off the AVL with enough notice to get out of there before they searched the premises, or before I returned. I can't be held for longer than a few days, it isn't like I will face permanent incarceration over this, but with every minute that passes, with each flicker of Tyra's emotions that I feel is a second that I can do nothing in attempt to rescue her.

She's suppressing the distress she feels, this I can pick up on. But it's everything else I can detect, no matter how faintly that pushes my rage so dangerously that once again the cell gets another beating, my knuckles burning as they pound off the silver. She's in great pain, and she's scared. It's almost unbearable to feel this and know I cannot help her. Even as the dawn approaches and my tired body, so exhausted from rage begins to shut down and a casket is brought in for me I cannot find peace. I climb in to sleep, but my eyes will not shut. I zone out, switch off, but yet cannot fall asleep.

When I do though, my mind is plagued by horrible dreams, by visions of what could be happening to Tyra. Blood will be shed for this, and not mine or hers. Russell Edgington may already be a dead man walking, but now he has a clear marker upon his head. He will meet his true death at my hands no matter the consequence. I meant it when I said I would do anything for my family, Edgington and anyone else who has laid a finger on her will find that out, and painfully.

**Authors note - Thank you so much everyone for the continued reads and reviews! So thrilled that you're all sticking with this epically LOOOOOONG story! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! 3 xx**


	48. Chapter 48

Tyra's POV.

Three days. Three days since I saw proper sunlight other than the few rays that shine into the basement at the far end. Three days since I ate or drank anything other than my daily allowance of a cheap packaged sandwich and a bottle of water. Three days since I washed properly. Three days since I wasn't in pain all over. Three days since Eric last kissed me. My heart feels like it has a drill going through it. I had always hoped I never had to feel the agonising pain of being parted from my vampire that Agnes explained to me would happen when bonded. I just wish I would have heeded her words, because nothing feels as horrible as this. Nothing could prepare me for how it feels. Like I'm being torn inside, then there is the actual tearing inside I have to deal with.

I'm at least allowed to go to the bathroom, taken out of the basement and down a small hall to the servants quarters where I do my business and wash myself as best and quickly as I can with the aid of the liquid soap and a bowl full of water, before Brendan bangs on the door and tells me to hurry up. It's at those times that I take a cold, wet paper towel and press it between my legs to soothe the burn. Russell wants me pregnant as quickly as possible, apparently he has a buyer for my baby (should it be a girl) all lined up already, so I've been forced into the act of procreation three times already. I shudder to think what will happen if the baby is a boy. I can't imagine I will be allowed to go full term if it is, why waste the time when they can somehow make me lose it (I doubt I will be shown the consideration to be given a professional termination) and then made to conceive all over again. If that's true or not I do not know, but it's what my pessimistic mind is conjuring right now, pessimistic over the nature of the situation; not that I'll be stuck in it forever because I will not lose hope that Eric will find me.

I'd like to say I cannot believe this situation has happened to me, but that would be a lie. With no disrespect to Eric, his vampires or my Werewolves, I was always wondering when it was going to happen. Always awaiting the day I'd be taken from Eric one way or another, by someone or another. I must keep the reason why in the forefront of my mind too. I cannot become the pitiful victim; I will not allow myself to. I suppose a lot of people who have ever found themselves in a kidnap situation would question 'why me?' I know why it's me, it's because of what I am, and I must remember that. I must not wallow in self pity. I must face the reality head on. It might just be the thing to keep me sane while I'm down here, locked away from the life I once knew forever in the minds of the people who are holding me. Or rather the vampire who is holding me down here, that is the correct terminology I'm looking for.

Being a woman with a very active mind I do find it hard to sit and do nothing and it is this that I find very difficult to cope with. The boredom of sitting in a cold basement, the only thing to break the monotony being the once a day two to three minutes of painful violation I receive from Brendan before he leaves, leaving me under the watch of a mean, nasty vampire named Estilo. He enjoys mocking me after watching Brendan rape me. I know exactly why too. Edgington knows how mentally strong I am, and he's trying to break me. Sorry Russell, no dice. It will take a considerable amount of pressure for this to happen, and there is no way I want him to have the satisfaction of knowing he's achieved that. If I fold to this mental pressure he truly has won. I will not give up that easily.

So, back to the fact I'm bored and cold as hell right now. To keep my mind active for the past few hours I've been sitting here counting the patterns in the bricks. Fifty five lead up the wall, seventy six across. All the bricks add up to multiples of two as well, the lines of cement between them adding up in multiples of four. This is literally the only thing I can do, sit here and count. Count the bricks, count the time to when I'll be due my food and water, and count the time before my next encounter with Brendan. Mostly I'm counting the minutes though, the minutes since I last saw Eric to be precise. Four thousand, three hundred and twenty eight minutes have passed since he walked out of the apartment, when I expected to see him back again in just thirty.

I wonder how many more will pass before I get to see him again? Not many I hope, but I do know for definite that in the time it's taken me to tell you all this the time has arrived for another encounter with Brendan, who is currently standing above me massaging himself hard. Yesterday I lost a back tooth after he forced me to give him a blow job and I bit his dick instead. The force of the punch to my jaw knocked it clean out.

"Come on my little blonde whore, time to drop your jeans and open your legs for me, there's a good little slut" he tells me, while I do as he asks and then just lie there and crush my eyelids together as I feel the bile burning the back of my throat once more. He last exactly one hundred and sixty seven seconds before zipping up and going back to his chair in the corner, Estilo arriving late this evening and turning up to take over exactly three hundred seconds later. Counting time, it's all you _can_ do when you have nothing, but nothing else _to_ do.

Pam's POV.

"Feel free to bite my head off, but you need to rest Pam. You'll feel better for it" Fabien tells me, while I find comfort in the most unusual of sources, for me at least. I sit here scratching the head of one of his gargantuan Rottweiler dogs as she rests it on my knee. I don't like animals at all, but in the three days Fabien has been here, assigning himself to protecting me, I've become a little more tolerant towards the bitch Contessa (or Tess for short) at least. Male dogs smell a lot worse to my nose than she does, and also she isn't so keen to get under my damn feet as the other three dogs are. I wish he had left them at his place, but through my disgust at the animal smell being brought in here I do see he couldn't very well leave them alone.

"I can't though; I just lie there and barely rest. I'm too worried, about both of them" I reply in little more than a mutter. Right now I think it's a safe guess to bet that Tyra is being held captive over at the Edgington estate in Mississippi, and Eric is currently incarcerated within an AVL holding cell, ready to be transferred to a mainstream prison while he awaits trial for murder. Yes, you heard me right, murder. The AVL and the government will be jointly bringing the prosecution case to the courts, with as much false evidence as they can. Including the false testimony of a witness who claims to have seen Eric himself drain the body of the young man found in our basement and leave the corpse there. At first we thought the set up was all just to keep him away for a few days, so enough distance could be put between him and Tyra without him being able to save her en route to Jackson, but that isn't the case from the news Fabien and I were told last night.

It's ludicrous, any vampire within the area or any vampire who knows Eric knows that he wouldn't be stupid enough to drain a human, lest of all on his own property and just leave the body there in the basement. No, he would not have done that. But a human jury and the prosecution are not going to see that. They'll see a huge, temperamental Viking vampire up there in the dock and damn him to hell. Apparently the AVL are working with the government on this to ensure 'steady and progressing relations' and an 'assured vampire/human coalition' of power. Eric is being made an example of how the AVL will not tolerate 'senseless and unprovoked attacks on humans' as they worded it. So unless we can find concrete evidence of the fact he wasn't even here at the time, he's destined for a basement cell in Baton Rouge Correctional Facility for the next fifty years, or the death penalty. He'll be executed via a stake to the heart in short.

Since the AVL won equal rights for vampires it now means they can be equally tried for crimes the same as humans can, but with slightly different punishments. Committing murder one gains you a space in a silver lined casket for fifty years or death by wooden stake. But why can Cassius, Beth or Deidra Longborne not stand up to give evidence that he was with them at the time I hear you ask? Because as soon as they arrived back in the chaos of the AVL still hanging around both women were taken from the club immediately, turning up a few hours later with their minds of the past twenty four hours erased. Cassius was arrested as an accessory, to make it look more convincing so Fabien and I think.

"Well if you need a change of scenery, she could do with a walk. I took the others earlier at first dark, but she wouldn't leave the side of your casket. I know animals aren't your thing but it's better than sitting around here looking glum. Of course I shall accompany you both for protection. I'm not allowing you out of my sight" Fabien replies, shaking me from my thoughts.

"Get her leash then, and let me change these for something more suitable for walking" I reply, looking down at my pumps and for the first time actually realizing they aren't mine. They belong to Tyra. Her little gold and silver strappy sandals that I steal off her all the time and I never even noticed. I sigh and get up, quickly changing them for a pair of my high heeled boots before we tell Deborah where we are going, advise Rob to be on his guard and leave, Tessa walking obediently at the end of the leash that Fabien holds.

"There has to be something" he states out of the blue, while Tessa stops and stoops to take a pee.

"Something?" I question. Fabien can sometimes assume you can tune into his thought patterns when he randomly begins voicing them.

"Some sort of evidence to free Eric and Cassius! Something that isn't as close to home as all the other avenues we've gone through, asking customers, checking the CCTV etc, there has to be something" he replies, looking thoughtful as we begin to walk again. "We cannot even begin to think of saving Tyra until we have them free. We just do not have the man power without your maker present. Or vampire power rather" he then adds as an afterthought.

"I wish there was. We just have to keep looking I suppose. I did wonder, do you think there's any chance Esmeralda could get a message to Tyra? Ask her if she heard or saw anything before she was taken?" I suggest as we near a large patch of grass that Tessa shows us she has every intention of going to investigate by pulling on her leash in that general direction.

"That would mean revealing to her that Eric has been arrested though, the stress of that is the last thing she needs. But then again, if she knows something it could prove useful. Oh but wait...we're forgetting something" Fabien replies as we both give each other knowing looks and our faces fade to deflated again. Whatever Tyra knows will be useless to us. Russell Edgington isn't likely to free her to take the stand and give evidence now is he? Little do we know though, but those wheels are already in motion as we speak...

Esmeralda's POV.

"Mr Edgington, all the bedrooms are now clean and freshly laundered. Here is your requested breakfast sir" I tell my boss as I place down the iced blood complete with ornamental celery stick. Of course it's just there for decoration to make it look like a bloody Mary. Since he hates us humans so much, I often wonder why with his diet at least he tries to imitate us so closely. Blood bisque, blood sorbet, blood punch and blood over ice are just a few of the 'dishes' the 'cook' prepares for him on a regular basis.

"Thank you for your efficiency Esmeralda. My pet needs her food taking to her, allow her a trip to the bathroom too but do not unbolt her wrist shackles, unpin them from the wall and wrap the chains around her arms when you take her out, just in case she tries to strike you. I will not have that temperamental little creature try to injure any more of my staff" he replies, with an air to his voice that tries to convey caring. This is how Russell Edgington pulls you into his safety net. He tries to make you believe he actually does give a damn about you, that you are of value to him. I almost believed it myself before Stanley sat me down and warned me thoroughly about him, told me how these kind of games are how he's survived for the last three thousand and more years.

Thank heavens he found me, when I thought I had nowhere to turn. Now I have protection a team to be on the side of, the team of area five who are looking to bring this tyrant of a boss of mine down, and for good reason too. I just hope I can do my job well enough and remain discreet enough to help when the time comes, when the vampires begin plotting to get the girl called Tyra back home safe. Right now though, without her boyfriend, a vampire called Eric Northman who is sheriff of area five, they can do nothing to even begin this.

This morning when he arrived home Stanley told me that if there was a chance to speak to Tyra I should, but to be very careful, and let her know all will be done to save her. He's adamant they will find some way to free Eric, some scrap of evidence they can find to release him. Little do I know that the time to find evidence is going to be here and now as I head down to the basement to take Tyra her food and water. It's been taken down by another maid for the last two days, so I hope now it's my turn I can somehow communicate to Tyra that no one has forgotten her, and that we will get her out of this as soon as we can.

"Estilo, I need to take her to the bathroom, okay?" I say to the horrible, mean tempered vampire who is keeping guard of Tyra.

"Don't let her be too long" is all he replies, moving like lightening towards Tyra and undoing her chains from the wall. It rouses sadness in me when she flinches at his movement. I don't blame her one bit for being frightened. I would be. He passes me her chains and I lead her along out of the basement, wishing I could just run with her through the house and outside into safety. Knowing that I have to talk to her but knowing there are vampire ears all around that can hear us I have to think quickly. So I push her into the bathroom and follow her in, bolting the door and letting her chains fall to the floor before putting a finger to my lips to indicate she shouldn't say a word before turning on the hot tap in the sink and waiting for enough steam to cloud up the mirror over the basin.

"I'm Esmeralda" I write in the steam on the mirror, giving her a reassuring smile and quickly giving her the hug she looks like she needs.

"Eric, is he okay?" she writes in the steam on the mirror underneath.

"Arrested, murder, set up to stop him getting you" I write in reply.

"WHO?" she writes, her face stricken.

"Some random body, club cellar" I write, turning my back while she quickly goes to the bathroom, cleverly not flushing to toilet yet. As soon as it flushes Estilo will know she's finished, and any extra time getting back to the basement will rouse suspicion.

"Tell Pam filing cabinet in office, evidence. Take to police, not AVL" she writes back while I nod.

"AVL = no trust!" I scrawl underneath, watching her nod too, her eyes wide. I then take a cloth from my pocket and rub down the mirror thoroughly to wipe away the evidence of our conversation before I quickly check her over, tutting and stroking her injuries as I shake my head. How dare any male treat a woman like this, how dare they. I already wondered if I should try and smuggle in a female contraceptive, a Dutch cap as my mother called them to prevent her from getting pregnant. But if it was found we'd both be in more trouble than we could ever get out of. I do hope though that with this information she's just given me we can get her boyfriend out of trouble at least. Then maybe the plan to rescue her can be brought to fruition. Whatever that plan may be. I take her back to Estilo and chain her up again, giving her a wink that conveys 'I'm on the case' before I leave.

The news that I have spurs me into working with much gusto, meaning the hours that pass until I clock off go by quickly, which is good as I want to get back to Stanley before he takes to his casket to rest for the day. Arriving home (or our home for the time being, a little studio apartment in downtown Jackson) I enter to find he's still awake, smiling up at me from his position in front of his laptop computer. Since all of my former hunter 'friends' are now dead we are not in as much danger as we were two weeks ago. The only danger we face now is Edgington discovering I'm a spy for the area five vampires.

"Hello darling" he tells me, turning in his seat and pulling me down into his lap where I kiss him and stroke his short strawberry blonde hair.

"Honey I was able to speak to Tyra! She gave me information, she has evidence that it wasn't Eric who drained and dumped the body in Fangtasia" I tell him, watching his eyes widen a little.

"How did you get this? Are you sure you were not overheard? When did you find out?" he asks me urgently all at once.

"No I wasn't heard. I took her to the bathroom to do her ablutions and we wrote messages to each other on the steamed up mirror after I ran the hot tap. She immediately asked after Eric so I told her what had happened, and in turn she told me that there is evidence under the filing cabinet in the office of the club that proves his innocence. We must let Pam know at once" I tell him, while he beams at me proudly.

"Good girl! You clever, clever little thing you, to write the message in the steam, Esmeralda you are much smarter than you give yourself credit for" he announces before pulling out his cell and relaying the information to Pam when she answers hers. Hopefully this is a step in the right direction. Hopefully now we can get Eric and Cassius freed and back on the case to free Tyra too. I hope it can be this simple.

Pam's POV.

After my call with Stanley is over I tear a path to the office as fast as I can, not letting anything or anyone get in my way. Heading straight over to the filing cabinet I look underneath and see something right at the back, Tyra's white i-phone, that I am able to retrieve after I shunt the cabinet out of the way and pull it from underneath. The battery is predictably flat, so I race down to Eric's apartment and find her charger still plugged in at the wall. I am then joined by Fabien, who arrives at my side silently.

"What's going on?" he asks me.

"Tyra was able to give Esmeralda a message that she had hidden evidence to prove Eric's innocence under the filing cabinet in the office, and here it is. Look" I tell him, switching the phone on and then going straight to her pictures. Nothing there other than photos of Eric, the cat, Lafayette, and her and a hot blonde girl. Next I try video, and find a file that was recorded on the night she was abducted and press play immediately. Clear as anything, you can see a man dragging an already dead body across the floor of the basement and letting it slump in the corner before suddenly he looks up right in the direction the video is being filmed from and the screen cuts out. It's a twenty second video, if that, but still it's all the evidence anyone needs to prove that it was most certainly not Eric who killed the body and dumped it back there. The video clearly shows it being dragged in from outside the club.

"We need to get this to the authorities ASAP" Fabien states.

"Eric was moved to Baton Rouge Correctional Facility at dusk last night, but the case is still of course being filed back here. I'll take it down to Shreveport police department at first dark tomorrow. In the mean time, I suppose it's time to rest. Or at least try to" I reply, feeling my eyes growing heavy and my reflexes slowing down as my vampirism dictates this is my time to switch off and do nothing. Even though I have all the evidence I need to free my maker, this is still a task that is harder than it sounds, and I do not rest well. I'm too preoccupied with getting to the bottom of all this, and getting the two people I give a shit about most back here where they belong. Tomorrow evening, I can finally swing that plan into action, and go and get my maker back. I hope Tyra will be soon to follow.

**Authors note - Thank you so much everyone for the continued reads and reviews! So thrilled that you're all sticking with this epically LOOOOOONG story! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! 3 xx**


	49. Chapter 49

Eric's POV.

"Hey yo, vampire, whassup? Y'all gunna smash any more shit up today? Hey yo! You even listening to me white boy?" shouts the burly, grammatically challenged man by the name of Chris Wilson that I have to share space with down here in the basement cells of Baton Rouge Correctional Facility.

"When I'm over a thousand years older than you I do not appreciate being referred to as 'boy'. Do you hear me?" I tell him, fangs bared as I pace in front of the bars of my cell, bars that are made of silver but have already taken several poundings. Until they worked out that if they gave me less blood I wouldn't heal as quickly, preventing me from trying to physically break my way out of this place and kill everyone who stands in my way of rescuing Tyra.

"I hear you loud and clear bro, loud and fucking clear! I know you can't get me but still, you's about the only thing I'll ever be scared of. You be the only thing above a motherfucker like me in the food chain, the only thing" he says, standing at the front of the cell and draping his arms through the bars.

"Don't bank on that" I mutter, thinking if he was to have a run in with a werewolf it doesn't matter how 'ghetto' this idiot considers himself he'd definitely be the food. This is what I've had to endure for the last twenty four hours since I've been here, him jabbering at me non stop unless I'm in my casket. All the other inmates down here on death row have been too afraid to even look me in the eye, let alone talk to me. Yes, I have to await trial on death row since there are absolutely no windows in the basement cells, and also because this is the most secure area of the prison. Any vampiric prisoner is automatically placed here now that the equal rights bill dictates we are to be tried for crimes in the same way humans are, just punished differently. Right now I am of course as you know awaiting trial for homicide, which also as you know was an act I did not commit. Not that anyone believes me of course, and not that I have any evidence other than the exact testimony from Cassius, since Beth and Deidra were captured and had their minds erased of the whole evening shortly after we returned to the club. I'll give Russell this much, he sure had all his bases covered in this attack.

It was a huge operation to carry out, huge. Which leads me to believe there is no way in hell the AVL are innocent in this, and that they were just tipped off about a body Edgington's comrades planted in the basement of my club. They're in cahoots with him for sure. This is why when I was allowed my one phone call upon my arrest I used it to contact Pam and get my lawyer on the defence case at once, but to also warn her gravely not to trust anyone from the AVL, and stay as low on their radar as possible. If you put Nan Flanagan in front of me right now I'd shove my fist up her ass and pull her head out of it, then set fire to her inside out body whilst poking it with a big silver stake. Anyone who had a hand in the kidnap of my woman suffers the same fate up in my mind. It is feeling what she has been going through for the last four days that have driven me so insanely angry, having outbursts of fury so lethal that some of my cell bars have had to be replaced already. It was then that they decided to give me less blood to make me more manageable.

Still, feeling her pain, her torment, everything that's being inflicted on her is grating on me. It's like someone is running a shard of broken glass over my insides again, and again, and again. Then there's the physical ache, the actual pain of being parted from her. It gets worse as each hour passes. I bet Edgington is getting much pleasure out of this, knowing that being without her will slowly drive me insane. I shouldn't have left her; I should have taken her with me to Deidra's. No, I should have left her in Norway with Agnes while I returned to make all of this go away alone, with her in absolute safety and out of the way. I cannot think like this though, I must just think of what the hell to do next. How to get her out of there while I continue to languish in jail, there just has to be a way.

Moving away from the bars I step over my casket and head to the cot over in the corner and lie on it. Even though I could sleep here, I requested a casket anyway. I want my privacy while I rest. As I lie and stare at the silver lined ceiling (it's a special vampire holding cell, solid silver walls and bars) I tune myself in to Tyra's emotions, and frown when the first thing I pick up on is her physical pain. I then feel her boredom, and then a little comfortingly the glimmer of hope that she refuses to extinguish. That's my lady. She's tough. I am reassured by this alone, yet when I feel her in extreme distress, when I can detect only too well what is being done to her is when I lose control. I cannot even voice it, nor let that word beginning with 'R' linger in my mind. I'll lose it if I do. Whoever it is who is doing it to her will die a very, very painful death. They can be assured of that.

I miss her in every way I could. My heart yearns for her affection, my head misses her company and conversation, and my body burns with want for her almost constantly. I never thought as a vampire I could feel these kinds of things ever again, but I'm no ordinary vampire now. I'm one who is bonded to another supernatural, one who feels great pain at being separated from her. I always knew in the back of my head that no matter what I felt for her, having her as my weakness would lead to trouble sooner or later. Yet I do not regret it. I just wish that we didn't know what she was still. I'd even go as far to say that if I do not get out of this, and neither does she, then I wish I'd never met her. Wish I'd never discovered her, because if I hadn't of found her, if Godric hadn't of lead us to one another she'd be completely safe. Not being held prisoner having unspeakable things done to her.

No matter what I feel though; I still feel her strength, her steely resolution for this not to get the better of her. For that I am proud of her more than she could ever imagine. She's a truly incredible woman. The memory of her alone just isn't enough to keep me content though, and as four days stretch to six and six to nine not even my anger can rouse me from my depressive state by the evening of the sun down of the ninth day. I just lie there on the cot and stare blankly, zoning out completely and just shutting off. So much so that I do not hear the guard call my name as he walks down to my cell straight away.

"NORTHMAN! UP! YOU'RE OUTTA HERE" he roars from the other side of the cell bars as he begins to unlock them. That takes five minutes in itself.

"I'm free?" I ask him, slightly incredulously.

"Free to go, you just need to go up and sign your release papers when the governor sends them down to the front desk and you're a free man. All charges have been dropped on the grounds of exonerating evidence according to your lawyer" he tells me before swinging the cell open and then showing me out and up through the stairs of the jail. When I reach the front desk I'm shown to a small side room and told to change out of the orange boiler suit I was issued upon my arrival here and into the clothes I was wearing. After that I come back out to sign the papers and be greeted by my lawyer and Pam before we all leave. It goes without saying that I'm glad to see the back of this place.

"The evidence, what was it?" I ask her as we all climb into her white Porsche Cayenne.

"Tyra filmed someone dragging the body into the basement on her cell and managed to hide it somehow before she was kidnapped. Esmeralda and she were able to talk privately for a few moments and she relayed the information to her then. I handed it in to the police six days ago, but I suppose it's taken that long for it to be investigated. Cassius was freed earlier too, Beth came up trumps for him there" she replies, driving away from the jail at speed.

"What did she do?" I ask.

"Deborah's brother works for the company who operate the CCTV and traffic cameras for the Shreveport district, it was all privatized about a year ago apparently. Anyway, we gave him the license plate number of Cassius' vehicle and also an approximate time of when he was passing under the bridge where one of the traffic cameras is on the main highway he would have taken to get to Deidra's. He scanned the footage, and found a picture of the car passing under it leading out of the centre of Shreveport and also one of it heading back again twenty minutes later. This, needless to say proves his innocence, and therefore makes him a viable alibi for you, since your stories both corroborate with the other and also since there is video footage of a man who is not you dragging the corpse into the basement".

I look over at her and smile, I'm proud of the way she's been handling things. She's every inch the vampire I estimated she'd become back when I made her, and I tell her as much when we'd dropped my lawyer home and it is just us in the car.

"Your woman deserves the most credit, for being quick witted enough to film what was happening and dispose of the evidence discreetly, so only you or I would find it" Pam says after I've told her of my pride towards her.

"She will receive it too, when I get her back" I tell my progeny. The remainder of the car journey home is spent discussing just how we are going to get her back, for that is the most important task right now. I will bring her home.

Tyra's POV.

"Wake up! Wake the fuck up!"Brendan shouts tersely at me, grabbing me by my hair and slapping my face hard. This is the second time I've blacked out this evening, so weary and weak from the amount of blood being taken from me, from how my injuries are taking their toll, from how mentally exhausted I am.

"Get...the...fuck off of me" I croak at him, fixing him with a glare when I can finally focus, that focus blurring again when his fist meets my eye. I fall to the floor with a thud and groan when he lets me go, and then I feel my hair pulled again as he makes me sit up.

"Eric's going to kill you for this, mark my words. He'll make you suffer before he ends you. And if he doesn't, I will" I tell him coldly, as defiantly as I can through the pain.

"You know, I almost admire how damn tough you are, if I wasn't so certain you're about an inch from breaking down. Nine days you've been here and where's your vampire? Not coming, that's where he is. Face it, if he gave that much of a damn for you he'd have moved heaven an earth to rescue you, even from the confides of the cell I wager he'll be spending the next hundred years in he could have organised someone to at least try and rescue you. But he hasn't, because he doesn't care. All he cared about is that nice tight little pussy you have, and like they say out of sight, out of mind" he whispers, so close to me I feel his lips against my cheek, his breath hot and smelly against my skin.

"The only think that's going to crack is your skull, when I break it off the wall when my boyfriend comes for me. Because he will, and when he does not even running will save your ass, believe me you really are a dead man walking. Keep beating me, keep raping me. It'll only make him angrier" I tell him slowly and carefully, each of my words an effort.

"You keep telling yourself that, you're only deluding yourself though" he tells me while he laughs his dark, sinister laugh at me and walks back over to his chair, sitting down and fixing me with a stare that doesn't break until Estilo takes over.

"How's my favourite fang banger today?" the vampire asks as he leans against the wall and looks at me after Brendan's departure.

"Still nauseated by your presence" I tell him, looking away from him.

"Good, I'm doing my job efficiently then" he replies in his catty drawl. He's done worse that just standing there staring at me like I'm something he's trodden in though. He feeds from me, feeds off my energy and then does the same as Brendan does; spends hours trying to make me mentally crack. Telling me how he knows I secretly like being raped, how Eric doesn't give a shit, how he was only ever using me. I pointed out to him that vampires who don't care do not give women diamond rings like the one on my finger.

"What diamond ring?" He told me, before snatching it from my finger and with his extreme strength crushing it completely beneath his boot. That broke me a little bit; I held it back though and then cried silently as I fell asleep. Thankfully Esmeralda was able to suggest that I could become sick if I was not kept warm under the guise that she was suggesting it for Russell's benefit, that it would hamper his ability to take my blood if I got ill. He fell for it, and now thanks to the pretty Hispanic girl I have a wool blanket to cover me at least. I cried into that blanket after my beloved ring was destroyed. I don't put much sentimental stock in possessions, but that ring meant the world to me because of what it represented. Eric's devotion to me, which I can feel within as strongly as always and this is why they cannot break me. I can feel he hasn't turned his back on me, and yearns for me as much as I do him.

Touching my eye I feel wetness there and realize the skin has been split when I see blood on my hand. That's one of the many cuts I'm covered in. They litter my face, arms and hands, but the worst pain I feel from broken skin is the internal tears I've suffered, that have no time to heal. The worst thing though, the absolute worst is the fact my period was due two days ago and it hasn't come. I'm never, ever late. So that means one thing. I'm carrying that sack of shit bastard Brendan's baby, or at least the beginnings of it. A baby I never wanted, a baby that I'll lose either way anyway, a baby that will be murdered or sold the poor little thing. I was informed by Russell Edgington himself that if a boy is detected (he plans to hire medical staff and bring me up to a guarded room in the house for the duration of my pregnancy) in the first possible scan that can show this the pregnancy will be terminated. In other words by that time I will have to give birth to a still born foetus, wait, and then have to endure more of the same all over again.

I do have to wonder why he chose Brendan. Other than the fact the man is a no good ex convict (he likes to talk about himself and how dangerous he is) who has no morals or scruples whatsoever, there isn't much good about him. He's unintelligent, that's the most glaring thing. But as much as I loathe him I have to give it to him that he isn't an unattractive man. This doesn't make him any less repulsive though. I suppose I've just answered my own question though. He had to choose someone who wouldn't care one ounce to rape and beat a woman on a daily basis. I know why he chose Estilo, he lives here as Russell's new little plaything, or one of them as I can gather. He's doing his best to impress his sugar daddy too by the looks of things, volunteering to come and keep watch over me every night.

Nine days. Sometimes the time has flown by, sometimes it's dragged and a day has felt like a whole month. They didn't take my watch from me when I got here, so I've kept track of the days. Today is Monday, and it's 7.16pm right now. I've sat for hours and done nothing but watch the minute hand ticking along, listening to the sound and wrapping myself in my blanket to shroud me from view. I think of Eric as I curl up, the agony inside I feel from being parted from him threatening to take hold of me completely. So I focus on the ticks, I focus so hard that I zone out completely for what only feels like a few minutes. It turns out I zone out for fourteen hours, and before I know it I have Brendan on top of me, and I'm in physical agony all over again.

The only thing that has kept me going is feeling Eric's moods and emotions, and I know right now even though he is of course still so angry, he's okay and he's free too. I had verbal, or rather message in the mirror confirmation of his release from jail from Esmeralda yesterday morning. I can feel he is trying with all his cunning to get me back. It is this that gives me hope, that no matter how much pain I'm in, no matter that without him an empty wind scraps across my soul, no matter how much this torture is weighing me down, he will save me. I fall asleep or rather pass out from the pain as soon as Brendan leaves for the night, wrapped in my blanket but still so cold. I miss Eric's big bed, I miss how because of winter and it being cold he'd stand in front of the fire for ten minutes before getting into bed with me, so I could fall asleep wrapped in his warmth. I miss my home too, my cat, my friends. I miss my life, and no matter how bad it gets I refuse to believe I will never get it back.

Eric's POV.

"Thanks, I only just got rid of four smelly animals. Now you bring that in here?" Pam says as she walks into my apartment, about an hour after we arrived back in Shreveport. She's referring to the fact that when I went to Tyra's home with Beth earlier tonight so she could place magical wards over the place, preventing anyone's entrance other than my own for the moment, I collected Poontang. She'd been living pretty much wild by the looks of things; since Tyra's only neighbour Lafayette has just got back from a winter vacation with his boyfriend and didn't notice her disappearance. I informed him what had happened, and needless to say he was horrified, offering to help in any way he could. I told him I doubted there was anything he could do that I couldn't, but that I would remember the offer and let him know should I find use for him.

"Tyra would want me to look after her, so she stays. I'm not sorry if that bothers you, you know what this cat means to her" I tell Pam, glaring at her a little for her selfishness. She should know damn well the cat is important to Tyra.

"Alright, I won't mention the feline again" she replies coolly as she comes to sit on the couch opposite me, looking on at Poon with suspicion as she sits in my lap purring contently. She's missed me, this I can tell since she hasn't moved away from me yet in the half an hour she's been back here, not even wanting to explore her new surroundings. I can imagine she probably thought she'd been abandoned after not seeing either of us for nine days and now is basking in the fact one of us has returned. She keeps sniffing the air for the scent of her owner though, and kept watching for her before I took her from the house earlier. Pam isn't the only vampire to take offense at her either, when another turns up to attend the meeting I have called, to discuss and formulate a precise plan to get Tyra back.

"Since when have you had one of those awful creatures?" Stanley asks as he enters my apartment, holding the hand of Esmeralda, who is on her night off from work at the mansion.

"She belongs to Tyra, and I do not find her vile at all" I tell him as he and his woman sit down next to Pam.

"Esmeralda, how is Tyra? Please, don't sugar the pill. I will know if you're lying" I immediately ask her, wanting her to be totally honest with me. She takes a deep breath before answering.

"Not good. He's draining too much blood from her too often, and then there's what Brendan is doing to her. She's in bad shape" she tells me, clutching Stanley's hand tighter as she braces herself for my reaction. I'm beyond angry outbursts now though; my rage has manifested itself above that level to a point where it's just going to build. Until I get my hands on Edgington, and the man Esmeralda just named as Brendan.

"What does Brendan look like? Because when we get in there to take Tyra, he's coming with us when we leave" I tell her sternly.

"Basically he's the only human guy watching over her. But the problem is he leaves at 6pm every night. An hour after sundown, that's when the vampire's all rise there. They're lazy bastards" she replies, making Stanley laugh a little at her lazy comment. "He's tall with dark hair, and he's really hairy. Bright green eyes, about Fabien's height but your build Eric, except he has a beer gut and you don't" she then adds, giving me all the physical description I will need. What she just said though, it does pose a problem. To snatch Tyra back and take him too I have a very short time after sundown but before the vampires of the mansion rise.

Just then we are disturbed by the entrance of Cassius, Fabien, Beth and the werewolves. They nod in greeting and all assemble themselves, sitting or standing. Poontang gets off my lap and hides between my thigh and the arm of the couch, growling quietly at the Were's as she peeks over the top of my leg. She doesn't like them at all, and senses what they are even in their human form. I scratch her head idly to appease her, and after a while she stops when she realizes she's in no danger. I go over what Esmeralda just stated for their benefit, and then sit back to listen to what they have to say.

"We need to create a diversion so we can get to the basement where she's being held. But what kind of thing would divert Were's, vampires and humans? You could get Dmitri to knock out the electricity and plunge the whole mansion into darkness, he's capable of doing that in his line of work since he has to repair and relay power cables. But that would do nothing to disable the vampires" Pam offers. There's silence for a time.

"Beth" Cobie's voice cuts through the silent air. We all turn to look at him expectant for more, especially the lady herself.

"She knows the kind of magic, that real old magic that Deidra knows and unwittingly used against us. Imagine the kind of magical power she could harness, what spells she could cast upon the mansion and whoever is inside" he says, pointing at the old lady.

"The boy has a point; there is some very sinister magic I could use. But before you think of getting Tyra out, we need to find a way to get all the information about why she is being held out with her too. You suspect the AVL stand to gain something in all of this, and Eric not one of us at this table disagrees with that notion. The only way we can ensure Tyra will be safe once we get her is to bring the AVL and Edgington down too, or we may as well leave her there because they'll find some way to override you and take her again" the witch comments, making some very valid points. She's absolutely right; we need concrete evidence of it. Something printed or a recorded conversation between Edgington and the AVL. This is where Esmeralda will come into play.

"Esmeralda, do you have access to an office of his, and substantial enough time to look around it?" I ask her. She looks nervous at just the thought of it.

"Yes, I do go in to clean his office. He doesn't usually go in there until after I'm done each day, so I have time. It's just if Horacio or Estilo who are two of his boy toys are up and about that I have to worry. Sometimes they come in to check that I am working and not using the internet as some employees have done" she tells me. "I'm pretty savvy with a computer, I could take a little USB stick with me that has a big memory and copy all the files off of his computer onto it and then hide it well enough on my person to take home and check for anything" she replies.

"I can get hold of one with a terabyte of space on there, more than enough room to copy the contents of your average PC. Also, the drive is the size of my thumbnail and a shiny metal in structure. It'll pass for a harmless key charm unless it's examined closely" Fabien chimes in as I feel a plan beginning to form.

"Beth, is there anyway you can make Tyra exempt from whatever spell you cast over the mansion's inhabitants?" I ask her, my mind working through all this quickly.

"If Esmeralda can discreetly pass on a small protective talisman I shall make then yes, it is entirely possible" she answers slowly with a thorough nod.

"What spell will you cast exactly? And is there a specific day it has to be cast on?" I then ask her, impatient to tie all this up and set the ball rolling as fast as possible.

"Eric, I need time to search my texts and find something appropriate. I know what is happening to her is not pleasant by any stretch of the imagination, but her life is at no threat. She's too valuable to Russell. I need a few days then I will be in touch. In the meantime, you need to wait for Esmeralda to gather your evidence. I'll see myself out" she says, getting up with assistance from Lance, who has been silent throughout the proceedings.

"I have a cousin in the Monroe PD. He can get hold of a good quality telephone bugs that are virtually untraceable. These new ones can pick up telephone recordings from a range of four metres from the phone. So it doesn't matter how close they are located from each phone, as long as they are within four metres. That makes it easier to hide them, more choice of places" Peter says, grabbing my attention. Everything, as I knew it would, is beginning to slot into place.

"Fabien, get one of the memory devices you spoke of to Esmeralda before she and Stanley leave for Mississippi. Peter the same applies to you with getting those bugs. If your cousin isn't working, make him go in, make up some excuse and get me what I need. Now, all of you may leave" I tell them, watching them do exactly that and leave just me and Poon sitting there in silence, her crawling out from her hiding spot and back onto my lap again.

"She'll be home soon. But until then I think I'm going to let you have a little bit of fun. Our basement has rats" I tell her, scooping her up and letting her ride my shoulder how she likes to as I take her to the basement, leaving the door open a crack so she can let herself back out again once she's done with her hunting and killing spree. Pam will close and lock it again when she goes around doing her lock up checks later on. Also leaving my apartment door ajar for the same reason I walk back in and sit back on the couch.

"I'm coming beautiful, I'm coming to bring you home soon" I think as I think of Tyra, shutting my eyes and seeing her there smiling at me as I concentrate on her hard, with all my strength...

Tyra's POV.

I must be weak from the lack of blood in my body, and lack of proper food. Because I'm sure just then I heard Eric's voice say loud and clear "I'm coming beautiful, I'm coming to bring you home soon".

**Authors note - Thank you so much everyone for the continued reads and reviews! So thrilled that you're all sticking with this epically LOOOOOONG story! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! xxx**


	50. Chapter 50

Esmeralda's POV.

"You will be fine; I will be waiting outside anyway should any trouble happen. I will feel it if you become distressed my sweet. You can do this" Stanley reassures me as we sit in his car parked up a few streets away from the mansion, ten minutes before I have to be in work. My heart is hammering so fast within my chest with nerves that I feel sick. I'm so scared to do this, so very frightened I will be caught. It's what I have to do though, to bring Russell down and free Tyra from his evil clutches. She cannot languish there forever because I am scared. I have to pull my head out of my ass and be brave. What she's going through has to end.

"Okay, I'm ready. I just need a kiss from my vampire for good luck" I tell him before receiving the usual breathtaking kiss from him.

"Make me prouder than I already am" he whispers, gripping my hand tightly before he lets me go to leave the car. I take deep calming breaths as I walk through the streets to the mansion, passing the guards on my way in and saying good evening as usual before hurrying down the long drive as fast as my feet can carry me. Stanley did say that I must try and conceal my nerves any way I can, and so to try and confuse any vampire who might pick up on my jitters I go in there clutching a recent letter I received from my gynaecologist this morning. That should put them off without any question. I walk through the mansion pretending to read it should anyone see me and as it turns out someone does.

"Is that something for me? I do not enjoy having my mail intercepted in such a way if it is Esmeralda" Russell tells me as he appears by the hallway door that leads to the servants quarters, holding his hand out for the letter that I pass him.

"No Mr. Edgington sir, just my usual check up letter that I do not relish receiving" I tell him, watching him look uncomfortable instantly.

"Quite" he replies, handing the letter back to me and looking very put off. It worked like a charm. I head down to the small room we keep our possessions in while we work and remove the telephone bugs (which are so small I did fear I might lose them) in the little plastic zip lock bag I was given them in and put them into my apron, and also the tiny USB drive that I attach to the rest of my keys that I wear tucked away under my uniform. With that, I am ready. I do my usual routine first of vacuuming the rugs and removing them ready for Frank (one of the other servants) to come along in a little while with the floor buffer, stacking them all up in the hallway so they are out of the way. Then I move on to polishing and dusting the dining room and main lounge (and plant one bug under the couch on the frame, which is within four metres from the telephone), and then get moving onto the staircase, which takes an hour to completely scrub, buff and dry again (I officially hate marble) before I can move onto the first floor, where the office is located.

I have an hour maximum now to do the most important job of copying the files from the computer. I make sure no one is lurking before heading in and going straight to the computer to switch it on, dusting the desk and tidying my boss's mess of quills and parchment paper (he's still quite old fashioned in that respect), putting them all back in the holder and the lid on the inkwell again. I then turn back to the computer as I hear the Windows Vista programme load up, and with horror that I see the computer is password protected. Oh heavens, we just didn't think of this! How could we not either? Of course he's going to keep a close guard of all his personal files! Shit!

Okay Esmeralda, keep calm. Just keep calm and think about this for a few moments. That's what I tell myself in my head as I bend over the desk with my fingers hovering over the keyboard, remembering back to my computer classes at school when we were learning about how to protect passwords.

"The four most common passwords used today are love, secret, sex and god" I remember my information technology teacher Mrs. Williams stating to us all, and with that memory try them all with no luck. Again I begin to wrack my drains and try the following list of words.

"KING" gets nothing.

"VAMPIRE" also draws a blank.

"KING OF MISSISSIPPI"

"CELTIC KING"

"CELTIC WARROR"

"VAMPIRE KING"

I try all the overblown names I can think of that he might use to reference himself in his password, but nothing works. I think harder, realizing that time is ticking away before an idea strikes me.

"TALBOT" I type in, hitting the enter key as I hope with everything I have that it works. Bingo, I'm in. Who knew it could be that easy? Sometimes, it's the most obvious answer. Taking the USB off my keys I slot it into the available drive, wait for the computer to load the drivers and locate all of his files while I wait for that to happen. I find all of his files are situated entirely within the 'My Documents' folder, and find no hidden sub files or folders at all, or anything else on the C drive at all. Everything is here, and so I select all and proceed to start copying them, glad he is efficient enough to keep all of his precious files stored on one place. It certainly makes copying them a lot easier. I then turn off the computer screen to make it look less obvious if someone does enter the office, and then go about my work of cleaning it from top to bottom and also planting a bug deep into the soil of a potted plant I will remember not to water until we have our information, save it being ruined.

It takes twenty minutes to copy it in total, and I have just enough time to remove the tiny memory stick and then remove all traces of the newly installed drivers for it from the machine so no trace of the file theft can be traced, before shutting the computer down and leaving the office with my cleaning products and moving on to the drawing room. I place the bug in there on top of the huge crystal glasses display case in the far corner after dusting its top and then move back downstairs to assist with relaying the rugs in the main foyer and hallway. Even though I'm relieved to have done my planting the bugs and collecting the information from the computer I will not be able to relax until my night here is over. Relax until Russell calls me to his office at a little past 3am.

"Yes Mr. Edgington?" I say politely as I enter, trying to calm my heartbeat. He will of course pick up on it.

"Why do you look so scared dear?" he asks me with a slight chuckle in his voice, the kind he uses to lull you into the false sense of security that he's a nice vampire.

"My doctors letter, I just have it on my mind is all. You see in my family there is history of...women's problems shall we say. I get nervous before each check up just in case something appears" I say, stumbling over my words which only adds to the effect. I'm playing a part in the charade too, the part of the nervous employee who trusts her kind boss enough to tell him personal things.

"If you would like the evening before your appointment off work I shall allow it" he tells me graciously.

"Thank you, sir" I reply with a humble nod.

"You are welcome. Now, could you bring up my briefcase from the lounge and organise a pot of warm blood too, please" he then tells me before going back to looking at his computer screen and typing away. So far so good, I wasn't drained on sight and he was working away happily at his computer. He seems to not suspect a thing, but that does not stop my hands from making the tea service rattle on the tray I carry it upon as they shake with nerves. I am able to pass this off as strain though, carrying a laden tray and a briefcase is not easy work. Especially when you take into account there's a hell of a lot of stairs that lead up here to the first floor.

"Thank you Esmeralda that will be all" he tells me with a curt nod. Two hours after this and I am out of here, scurrying to the taxi I ordered as fast as I can, insisting to Stanley I leave things as normal and take my usual method of transportation home rather than he pick me up, just in case. I breathe a sigh of relief as the cab pulls away from the gates, texting Stanley to tell him I'm on my way. The only other sneaky thing I have to do now is pass on a talisman to Tyra, which is apparently going to arrive as soon as Beth has found an efficient enough spell to use. It's been two days already since the meeting at Eric's apartment, so I hope she can find something suitable soon. Tyra can't take much more of what's happening to her without her cracking. I had to practically carry her to the bathroom about a half hour before I left, and held her as tightly as I dared in a hug of reassurance once she was finished.

Even though our meetings have only been short I feel the urgency of the situation has made us grow close. The trust she has in me and me in her too. We're secret allies on seemingly opposite sides. I hope the war between those sides will end soon, for her sake more than anyone else's.

"Hey you" I shout out as soon as I arrive home. Stanley is in front of me in a split second.

"Did you manage it?" he asks me, eyeing me carefully to make sure I am one hundred percent okay.

"All the files from his computer are here, and all bugs are planted in the last places he'd ever look for them. You get yourself to your casket and I'll begin searching this on our PC for anything incriminating" I tell him, watching him look pleased with me but shake his head and make a doubtful face suddenly.

"No sweetheart, I shall travel back to Louisiana tomorrow at first dark and deliver it to Eric. It was a commendable thought though, to volunteer yourself further like that" he tells me, putting an arm around me and guiding me further into the apartment and then treating me to an hour of sexual exertion that makes me almost forget why I was so nervous before leaving for work last night.

Eric's POV.

"Anything?" Pam asks me as soon as I enter the bar on the thirteenth night since Tyra vanished.

"No" I reply somewhat dejectedly. The 'anything' she's referring to is news from Beth about whatever hex or spell she has found. The fact that it's been almost four days since we met and discussed all this clearly states she hasn't found one sufficient enough yet. I've been extremely patient in my wait, but it is wearing undoubtedly thin. The old bag needs to get a fucking move on with it, before Tyra suffers any more than she currently is. I've felt her optimism sliding, I've felt her feeling depressed more than I have confident or strong in the last two days. She's starting to crumble. So are the people who care for her too.

Her father is understandably out of his mind, especially since he's keeping the whole thing a secret from his wife, for fear of her reaction and her blaming me for it. The night after I was released from jail I visited him at his factory in Baton Rouge (I hated having to go up there again, but because of Tyra's mother's loathing of me I couldn't go to the house) and was able to catch him just before he left. The poor human thought I was there socially, and was actually thrilled to see me, thrilled I'd come up completely on my own invite to introduce myself. I was surprised at how bad I felt for him when I watched his face changing at the news I had to give him. I told him the full story, trusting him not to say a word to anyone and I he assured me he wouldn't, but to be safe (and probably much to Tyra's anger if she ever finds out) I glamoured him, imprinting it in his brain that he must not breathe a word to anyone, especially the police. I cannot risk this going completely awry with a SWAT team turning up at the mansion, with no clue how to handle the situation properly more than likely. After I had explained it all to him and also brought him back to his normal self he told me he trusted me, said he could see how deeply I cared for his daughter and said whatever plan I had he'd stand behind.

"Just bring my baby back safe Eric" was the last thing he told me before he climbed into his car and drove away. Next on my list was Anna and Dmitri, the former bursting into tears as soon as I told them both, and the latter sat mumbling very dark words of vengeance against her captors in Russian (his mother tongue). I left quickly, after letting them know as much as they needed. Before we open up I call Deborah over and bite into her wrist to feed from her (even having anyone else's blood than Tyra's feels alien to me, let alone biting someone else neck to get it) and then head back downstairs with Poon when the doors open. I am not in a social mood at all, and do not even want to entertain the idea of sitting up on the stage being eye fodder for tourists and fang bangers, lest actually participate in it.

"Cat, come here" I call after scooping her bowl into her bag of dried food and placing it down next to her water dish in my otherwise empty kitchen. Empty apart from the few things Tyra has left here. It's the presence of the cat quietly eating her food that makes it look way more domesticated than I ever intended it to though. I leave her to it and go to lie flat out on the couch, having no energy it seems to do much else. Or any inclining to either, because I'm becoming further consumed in the distraction and depression in being parted from my woman. That's something else I never bargained on, feeling actual depression again. I was a very happy man as a human so I didn't feel it much then, not until my family died, and then the family I made for myself died too. This pain is exactly the same, but so is the undying thirst for vengeance. It is the ringing of my cell that stops me from contemplating that vengeance any further.

"Beth, what do you have?" I answer after seeing her name appear on the screen.

"I don't have a spell as such, but I do have something that'll trap every vampire and human I want trapped in there. Eric, I'm going to raise the dead" she says in a tone so matter of fact and normal I almost laugh.

"I think you need to get your old woman ass over here at once and explain to me exactly how you're going to go about that" I reply coolly, not one hundred percent convinced at her idea. Very, very few witches can raise and command the spirits of the dead.

"Shut up Eric, your ass is exactly one thousand years older than mine, old man!" she fumes before slamming her phone down. She walks through my apartment door as a speedy shuffle in her slippers still and a bright green dress that hurts my eyes (she's like the old lady version of eccentrically dressed actress Helena Bonham Carter, what she wears just does not match) just over forty minutes later. Cassius, Pam, Fabien and the Were's are all present here once again, Stanley is on speakerphone, and Poontang is hiding at my side once more, growling with displeasure.

'Beth, elaborate on your remark about raising the dead if you please" I tell her as soon as she has taken a seat next to me. She reaches across my lap and gives the cat a good scratch on the head, making a kissing sound at her with her lips before she begins to talk. It's all in her own time with this woman.

"It was no mere remark Eric, it was my plan! It is what I will do!" she exclaims in her loud boom.

"Okay, your 'plan'. Tell us more" I reply.

"Basically and to put it very concisely I have found a very old, very effective incantation that will raise the dead. Well, raise the spirits of the dead. Demons Eric, I'm going to summon demons and send them after everything in that house bar Tyra and Esmeralda. This is the talisman that will keep her safe from them. As long as it is on her person, touching her skin somewhere she will be safe. As for the scumbag who is down there with her, doing all he's doing to her, I will release him before you grab him and take him too" she tells me efficiently, holding out a small velvet pouch. "Don't get it out, it's partially made of silver. There is one in there for Esmeralda to wear too" she quickly adds when I take it and begin to open it up. I look inside to see both talismans are made of a thin silver chain with a few small charms and a flower of some kind wound around them.

"You can do this incantation at any time, and any place too while being quiet and discreet?" I ask her.

"I have to chant the verses out loud, but it doesn't matter about decibels just as long as I get the words right. Which I will" she says with every confidence. I nod in appreciation of her efforts.

"Eric, Esmeralda of course knows the mansion like the back of her hand, so she can draw out a plan of the basement, where the outside entrance hatch is and the like so the physical rescue of Tyra can go without a hitch. I propose Esmeralda be there with her too, so I can take her away at the same time. I want her out of there at the same time" Stanley says, his voice a little crackly across the line.

"Have her do that and bring it with you, Fabien, take these talismans to Jackson, tonight. Our plan of attack will be as thus. There is a back road that leads to the mansion across the grounds that we can access, but leave the vehicles we will travel in back on the roads though and go in on foot. Any Were on guard that gets in the way is slain, end of story. Then we go in and Beth does what she has to do at 5.30pm exactly. Stanley that is when you should tell Esmeralda we will be there for her and Tyra, 5.30pm tomorrow. We do this as soon as possible" I tell him and everyone else in the room. They all instantly nod before I tell them to go. This time tomorrow Tyra will be safely back in my arms, and those who hurt her will be severely tormented one way or another. Brendan will be coming with us for sure, to be held prisoner at my pleasure for what he did to Tyra. Russell on the other hand, he can wait until I have my lady safely out of there before I bring both him and the AVL down.

Speaking of which, Stanley sent a vampire here earlier with the USB containing the contents of Russell's computer, so I must now take up the arduous task of searching through all the files to find the evidence. Beth did state that it would be wise to gather the incriminating evidence in full before rescuing Tyra, but I'm confident in getting her out of there and leaving the bugs in place to pick up something if the scanning of his files proves to be a fruitless exercise. No doubt in the aftermath of her being taken back by us he will make a frantic telephone call the AVL that will be picked up by us. Peter has the rest of the bugging equipment set up in his house, recording every call from and to the mansion. We have our bases covered. So with all of this in mind I head up to the office, turn on the computer and plug in the USB and then get searching. I open and close around two hundred word files and find nothing, so then move onto the spreadsheets. At about 4am, when I have a sleeping cat snoring contently on the desk in front of me, I find what I've been looking for.

Russell,

Please keep all inventory of the blood being taken, amount and sale price so we can keep a current record of sales of the Wolverina blood. Also please find attached in this file our bank account numbers and sort codes for the monthly standing payments to our accounts to cover the company wages as agreed in full by you. There is a document also enclosed for you to sign and re attach so we have our agreement in writing.

Yours,

Catherine Nelson

AVL accounts.

I then click through the workbooks and find just about everything incriminating right there. A standing order for $100,000 to be paid monthly to the AVL (covering their company wages in full), and also the prices charged for Tyra's blood. Five grand buys you five fluid ounces of Wolverina blood. So this is how he wheedled his way out of his incarceration then. He's bargained with the AVL to pay their company wages in full, using the sale of Tyra's blood to fund his semi freedom.

"Not for very much fucking longer you won't be" I say into the darkness of the office as I go about saving copies of the files onto another memory stick I pull from the desk draw, one I plan on hiding. I then email the copies of the files to Fabien and explain he is to remove them from his machine and hide them securely. With that all done, the cat and I head to bed and I am able for the first time in almost two weeks to rest less fitfully, for I know this time tomorrow I will have Tyra here next to me again. Back where she belongs.

**Authors note - A huge, HUGE thank you to all for reading, and to those kind enough to leave a regular review. I appreciate your kindness so much :) xx**


	51. Chapter 51

Tyra's POV.

There it is. The dawn of day number fourteen, or is it fifteen? I'm not so sure, but I can tell that it is morning at least since the sun is beginning to shine through the tiny basement windows. I can see small rays of right over in the far corner and from the small crack in the outside entrance hatch just to my right. If this didn't alert me to the fact that it's dawn then the presence of Brendan did when he walked in and woke me up with a kick to my already gnarled up shoulder.

"I have morning horny, you can sure help me with that" he tells me, while I just blink weakly and nod, undoing my jeans and sliding them to my ankles and then just lying there and taking it while he rapes me. There's no point fighting back any longer, it hurts too much to take any more beatings. I've told him and I've told Russell countless times that my period still hasn't come which means I'm more than likely pregnant, but neither of them wants to listen. I was told more time needed to be left before I could take a pregnancy test, even though a First Response one would detect it right now. But no, he's willing to let me continue being Brendan's little plaything. So here I am, in agony so bad that once he's done I'm in tears that I just cannot hide as I pull my dirty, smelly blood covered jeans up over my legs. Legs attached to a body that is in the same state as these jeans.

"Awwww what's the matter princess, wasn't I gentle enough with you? I thought you liked it rough though, that's why whores like you go for vampires, you like the barbarian side of men" he tells me. I ignore him and just stare at the wall, able to fasten my jeans but not able to close my legs at all. The internal bruising and tearing is just too bad. I shudder to think what everything looks like down there. When I look at myself, my face and body in the mirror it makes me feel sick. I'm not unrecognisable, the swellings on my face and head have all gone down now, but I'm covered in bruises and am just dirty and smelly. I feel disgusting. How Brendan can even get it up for me is a surprise, but then again I guess it's the act of forcing a woman into sex she does not want that excites a mind and body as evil as his.

"I need to go to the bathroom" I tell him, my voice so quiet and unlike me. I maintain they haven't broken my spirit, but they have in reality. I have no more fight left in me now. He looks put out, sighing heavily and jumping back out of his chair to undo my chains and then lead me up the stairs to the bathroom. Stairs I'm too weak to manage without help, crumbling half way up.

"Come on you pathetic woman! Put one foot in front of the other!" he snarls at me as my thigh shakes uncontrollably, too badly bruised from when he threw me into a wall recently and then stomped on it. I do not know what day that happened on.

"I can't!" I cry out in pain as I try again to take a step up. The help I receive from him is brutal. He just lets go of the chains that connect to my wrist shackles and yanks the ones connected to my feet, sending them out from under me and sprawling my body across the stairs that he then drags me up feet first, my sore and tired head banging off each step as I'm pulled up them. He then pulls me to my feet by taking a handful of my hair, and virtually throws me into the bathroom. The pee I take is agonising, like pissing vinegar but what is even worse than that is the fact that after I come out and Brendan throws me over his shoulder is that he throws me to the wall again as soon as we're back in the basement. If my shoulder wasn't dislocated before, it sure is now. I lie there and sob in agony as he chains me up again, before receiving a slap to my face.

"NOT ANOTHER GODDAMNED SOUND OUT OF YOU!" he warns, before spitting in my face and going back to his chair where he sits and taunts me for hours. I don't know how much more of this I can physically or mentally take. If I wasn't so steely confident in the fact that someday, somehow Eric will rescue me I really do think I'd have attempted to take my own life by now. For what life is this? Being held prisoner in a basement and being beaten and raped on a daily basis with no reprieve? It can't even be classed as a life.

It's amazing how a person can completely lose themselves; lose what they thought they were in the space of two weeks. I don't feel as strong or as confident as I once did, but I refuse to give up hope. I refuse to resign myself to this fate. I refuse. There, I guess there is a little of the old me, the 'pre captivity' Tyra Boden inside me somewhere. Somewhere in this malnourished, aching, tired and battered body is the real me, waiting to come back again.

"Hey, HEY! WAKE UP!" I suddenly hear, my head snapping awake as I see Brendan standing there with a packaged sandwich and a bottle of water. "You need to eat this" he then adds.

"Not hungry" I tell him, but take the bottle of water and drink heartily until he snatches it from me and pours it over my head.

"I don't fucking care, you have to eat it so open your damn mouth, take a bite and swallow, it's that easy!" he roars at me while taking one of the sandwiches and forcing it into my mouth, making me gag and choke on the cheap and tasteless food item. Once I've finished coughing crusts out of my throat I try and chew the mouthful he has forced me to eat, ending up with half of it falling from my mouth to his annoyance.

"Eat every bite, even if it falls on the floor" he warns me, standing over me and staring, watching me as I try and eat the sandwich as fast as I can, my stomach lurching with sickness. I don't want another fucking ham sandwich for as long as I live. It's all I've been given for the last two weeks and the smell alone makes me nauseous. It is with relief that I finally am able to swallow it in big, over chewed mouthfuls, and then wash it down with what is left of my water. Gas station sandwiches, this means Esmeralda is here and I can get what I've been looking forward to daily. A motherly hug, and for someone who isn't all that affectionate with people you can really tell just how low I am right now. Seeing her face is the only thing that makes my heart flutter with happiness, for I know she will hold me as tightly as she dares and comfort me when she takes me to the bathroom. I'm so glad that just five minutes later she appears, telling Brendan where she's taking me. I can barely believe I slept for so long, but am glad that it's late afternoon now (5.10pm) and this is another day that is almost over.

"Hurry her back, you hear? If she gives you any bullshit about it being too painful to walk just drag her along by her chains" he tells her. She nods and takes me away, letting me lean on her as we climb the stairs and then almost carrying me into the bathroom, where she turns the hot tap on right away and fishes for something in her pocket.

"Eric is coming tonight!" she writes in the steamed up mirror with her fingertip.

"When?" I write back.

"10 mins, wear this" she writes before wiping away the messages and carefully unclipping a silver necklace covered in charms and putting it around my neck, pulling my hair over my shoulders to hide the chain while the charms fall down low enough to be concealed by my sweater. As she does this I see she has a necklace exactly the same on her too, but my tired mind cannot even work out why. All I know is that right now Eric is coming, and this is the only thing my mind can concentrate on, my heart hammering with excitement. When we get back to the basement and I've sat down Esmeralda makes a point of taking a very long time to do up my chains again, and it is as she does this that I feel something like a flame rise up inside me. For the first time in fourteen (or is it fifteen?) days, I can feel Eric, and I can feel he is very, very close by right now. I do not know how he is going to get me, but in five minutes I sure do find out...

Eric's POV.

"Well, at least we're not going to have any wolves flying at us tonight. The moon isn't full until tomorrow" Cassius observes as he locks up his vehicle to the side of the highway. Me, Pam, him, Fabien, Stanley and Beth have all arrived in black with black tinted window SUV's courtesy of Stanley who thought using unmarked vehicles would be the best. I agreed whole heartedly with him.

"In wolf or human form, they're all dead in my mind anyway. Let's go" I instruct him, watching as Beth looks disgusted at having to be carried there because of her mobility issues (she is a frail 80 year old lady after all) as Fabien picks her up and clutches her tightly, before we all move at vampire speed and are at the back of the grounds of the mansion within moments. Straight away we've alerted the werewolf guards, two of them being met by the fangs of Stanley and Pam and having their throats torn clean out before they even realize what has hit them.

"Cassius, come with me. We'll take out the rest of them patrolling the perimeters while Beth casts the spell, and then come back to guard her" she says, while the big black vampire nods once before they both vanish. Beth cast spells over all of us before we left the cars so the demons she plans to raise will not affect us, so when they come all of us will be safe from them. Anyone other than Tyra and Esmeralda inside the mansion will not be so lucky.

"Well, I'm ready" the old witch tells me as she looks to the sky. I give her a nod, and with the air seeming to crackle around her with magic she begins chanting a long, ancient incantation in Latin. All around us the air then changes, crackling furiously as the trees begin to sway in a breeze that was not blowing a few moments ago, the tension starting to mount. Fabien, Stanley and me all exchange glances as Beth's words become more urgent as she goes on, and louder in tone as she holds her hands to the sky and the ground begins to shake underfoot. Then, she suddenly stops.

"They're coming" she tells us as she turns to face us, as the ground shakes even more and other noises fill the air. Moans, screams, cackling laughter and a loud sound like a giant rattlesnake shaking its tail fill the air before suddenly, black pools of smoke begin to seep through the trees and rush towards the mansion.

"GO NOW!" she then shouts at us as the deafening noises from the demons all around sound like one unearthly roar and their smoky presences rush into the mansion, smashing the windows and ripping doors from their hinges.

We move in a pack of three until we are at the basement doors, where I fling them open and for the first time in fourteen days seem my beloved's face looking up at me. I move to her and take her in my arms, ripping the shackles from her wrists and arms and then pick her up as I see Stanley grab Esmeralda and Fabien grab Brendan. Then we're out of there as quickly as we arrived.

"I knew you'd come for me" she tells me, her voice barely audible even though her head is right next to my ear.

"And now I have you back, I'm not letting you go again" I tell her as I fly through the darkness with her, landing back at the cars and seeing Cassius, Pam and Beth all present. The two women wince noticeably when they take in Tyra, Pam rushing over to cover her face in careful kisses as I get into the back of the SUV with her still in my arms. Fabien gets behind the wheel after a few moments and Pam dashes into the back next to us, and with that we are off out of the parking spot and doing eighty down the freeway behind the vehicle Cassius, Stanley, Beth and Esmeralda are in. Fabien threw Brendan in the trunk of this vehicle and locked him there before we pulled off. Looking down at Tyra, I feel two bloody tears trickle down my cheeks, how through all the pain she's in she can still smile at me like she's doing right now.

"I missed you, my brave lady" I tell her, kissing her forehead carefully. I don't care kiss her lips; one has a large and painful looking split in it. So painful looking I'm surprised she can even smile at all.

"I missed you too" she tells me before her face crumples and she begins to cry quietly. I hold her head to my chest and stroke her back gently, looking down to see what I just felt against my arm is Pam's hand entering our space to hold Tyra's gently. Looking at the state of her, her shoulder displaced, her face and body a mess of cuts and bruises I decide quickly she needs medical attention. Yet because there's the fact she's been a rape victim I cannot take her to a hospital. Too many questions will be asked. At times like this I am glad there are certain humans I know I can call on who I know would be happy to do me a favour. Vivienne Atkinson, MD is just one of those people. She's a woman I had a brief sexual relationship with for a few months a few years ago, but since she was a very smart woman she was not prepared to put up with the fact I'd never want to settle with her (and the fact she obviously was not my one and only), and so she moved on. No hard feelings at all, she just wanted what I couldn't give her some day, a marriage and children. She still doesn't have those things, but she is free tonight I find after I call her here in the car and arrange for her to meet us back at the club in around two hours, the time it will take to get back across state lines.

We were able to drive up here with the help of Dmitri and Lafayette following us in the formers pick up trick, Dmitri driving one of the SUV's (and Beth driving the other, thankfully she's still sharp behind the wheel if not so much on her feet) that carried us in our caskets since we travelled here in the light. They let us out when the sun was down and then took the caskets back on the pick up to Louisiana. It was a very tight operation. Along the journey I let Tyra feed from my wrist so she can begin to heal, a process that will be slow. As I predicted my blood, with its extreme potency puts her right to sleep. This pleases me; at least if she's sleeping she's not in pain. She sleeps for the entire journey, only stirring when I take her out of the car outside the club. Stanley and Esmeralda head off to Fabien's place where they will be staying with him, Cassius takes Beth home and Pam takes Brendan straight to the basement while I get Tyra down to the apartment.

"Can you do something for me?" she asks after I place her down gently on the couch.

"Anything" I tell her, stroking a patch of clear, unblemished skin on her inner arm.

"Take me for a shower? I don't think I can stand that long without help" she replies. She sounds a little less hoarse than she did an hour ago, but I can clearly see the reason why all over her neck. Bruises that come from repeated throttling cover her pale skin, and make anger rise within me like an exploding hydrant.

"Of course" I reply, gently picking her up again and carrying her to the bathroom. It is only after I have switched the shower on and helped her remove her clothes that I see the full extent of the damage. She has bruises in the shape of boot marks on her thigh and the side of her ribs, and is covered from head to toe in cuts, grazes and bruises. Brendan will suffer greatly before he dies for this. I lift her carefully once more and carry her into the shower, then once we're there she wraps her arm around my neck (the other arm she cannot lift at all) and leans her weight against me and makes a content little sound at the feeling of the warm water hitting her skin and rinsing the blood and dirt from her all over. We just stand still like that for what feels like a long time, both too relieved to be back together to do anything other than embrace for now.

Tyra's POV.

Still being in a little of dreamy state from drinking Eric's blood the pain I've been in is still numbed a little. Even right now as he picks off all the dirt filled scabs that have started to go septic I'm not in pain, it feels comfortable in fact. They've been stinging and itching for days. After doing that he washes me all over very, very carefully and then takes care of my hair. Then, very sweetly he bends to shave each of my legs, something that will make me even more comfortable.

"I'll leave here for now, for obvious reasons" he tells me quietly before kissing my pubic mound softly, and finishing removing the hair from my legs. He then does my underarms for me (I can just about lift my bad arm enough for that) while I take the bottle of gel cleanser I keep in here and give my face a good rubbing with it. With that I'm done, and Eric shuts off the shower and heads out to wrap himself in a towel, and bring three in for me. I wrap my hair and he wraps the others around my body and shoulders before carrying me to the place I've missed so much, the bed. He lays me down gently and dries me off, while I arrange one of the towels in the middle of the bed and shuffle myself onto it, not wanting my cuts to ooze anything onto the very fresh looking linen.

"Would you like me to fetch you some underwear?" he asks me, picking up the one towel left over.

"Please, the grey cotton Calvin Klein ones? You know the ones you hate?" I ask him, watching him smile properly for the first time since I saw him again. They are the most comfy I have here, all soft cotton but he hates them on account of being 'too plain'. No doubt though he understands of course right now I just want comfort. He returns dressed in very deep blue jeans and a dark green t shirt, and helps me into my underwear before lying beside me.

"This is the first time I haven't been in pain in fourteen days. Or is it fifteen?" I tell, and then ask him.

"Fourteen. Exactly two weeks today. This time two weeks ago you were at your parents' house horrifying your mother" he tells me, making me smile as much as I can. I feel so relieved to be back here, so much better for it. Yet I know as soon as the effect of the blood wears off I'll be in agony all over again. It's when I know the mental anguish will begin to seep in again, anguish at what happened to me while I was down there. I'm still rational about it, I'm not thinking 'why me?' even now. I know why it was me. It doesn't make the fear, and the repulsion you go through any easier to cope with though. That just comes along with violation of that nature I suppose, no matter how much you thoroughly understand and accept why it happened to you. We are then disturbed by a knock at the door.

"Come in" Eric says. The door opens to reveal a tall, slim woman with an unmade up face and her long light brown hair swept back into a ponytail. Vivienne I presume.

"Hello Eric. Hello, I'm Vivienne. Right, let's get you checked. Eric, if you could give us some privacy while I examine your girlfriend" she says, introducing herself to me quite warmly, but with professionalism still. Eric gives me a soft kiss on the cheek and moves to sit on the couch, and Vivienne begins to examine me once she's slipped on a pair of protective latex gloves. She starts with my head, checking for lumps and bumps and asking about any pain or blurred vision, asking me to follow her fingertip with my eyes as she moves it in front of me from side to side, then close to far away.

"No concussion, but this facial bruising concerns me. Especially around the jaw and eye socket" she says, studying me with extreme concentration.

"The swelling around my eye only went down about three days ago. It's been so puffy I couldn't see well for a while. Also, right by my jaw there I lost a tooth" I say, putting my finger into my mouth and tugging the side of my cheek out to show her the gap where I'm missing my very last double before the wisdom tooth.

"I suspect a hairline fracture of the eye socket and perhaps the lower mandible too; I'd like you to come to the hospital tomorrow for an x ray. Don't worry nothing else will be noted. Eric told me of the situation and I trust he will handle it properly" she tells me with a wink. She then moves to my shoulder and examines it when I tell that is the next place I'm hurting most, and then calls Eric back again.

"I need you to hold her down. Tyra, your shoulder is dislocated, not fully but it will be painful to push back in. I will be quick though" she tells us both, gently moving me down the bed until I'm lying flat, Eric placing a hand on my chest and the other shoulder while I prepare for the pain.

"On three, one, two..." and that's as far as she gets before bang, back in my shoulder goes with an almighty push and a crack. The scream I let out could probably be heard over in Monroe, and the pain I feel is like someone just hit it with a meat cleaver. I pray you never have to go through that, because I can tell you first hand it's so painful right now I feel like passing out, yet at the same time the pain was so bad it's made my breathing erratic and fast.

"Okay deep, slow breaths, it's all over now" Vivienne assures me. "In through the nose and out through the mouth" she then instructs. I do as asked and begin to feel calm again, reaching up with my good arm and stroking Eric's face. He kisses my palm and then goes back to the couch again when he sees I'm okay again.

"Severely bruised muscles here to the thigh and lower leg, I want you to remain off your feet as much as possible. The other leg is much the same I see. Okay, this will sting a bit but your lacerations and grazes need to be cleaned" she then says after checking me over a little more. I nod in understanding as she goes into her large medical bag to fetch some antiseptic spray and gauze to clean and dress the wounds that need dressing, adding a layer of antiseptic.

"Vampire blood over wounds will of course heal them faster too, but not with the older wounds since the flesh has already partially begun to heal. It can help it not to scar though so leave these on for a day then ask Eric to assist" she tells me while I nod and we go back to silence until each cut that needs to be is fixed together with strips and covered with a taped on piece of dressing gauze. Then there's the examination of the area I'm most dreading.

"I'm going to need to check you internally for vaginal bruising and tearing, and to do that I will have to clamp you open. This will be painful, but I'm going to give you a good spray of ethyl chloride, it'll totally freeze your skin. They use it on women in labour, or if you have a body piercing" she informs me while changing her gloves and then going about the exam in a very professional manner, taking the towel from underneath me and draping it over my lap in the same way they do the sheet when you have a gynaecological exam.

"It's mostly swelling and bruising, few tears that haven't healed already. Genital flesh does have the capability to heal rapidly thankfully. Once again, vampire blood will heal you quickly as these are fresh. Obviously it must be done very gently though" she tells me once she's finished. I nod but don't say anything. "Also, when you come in tomorrow for an x ray I will have results from the vaginal swab I just took and bagged, and also the blood test I plan to run to test you for STD's or other impurities in your blood. I stopped off at an all night pharmacy and brought this for you, I thought you would want to know this test as soon as possible. I hope that was not presumptuous of me" she then adds, passing me over an early pregnancy detecting test.

"No it wasn't presumptuous, thank you. I heard you can take a pill now instead of having a termination. Can you organise that for me too please, if I am?" I ask her, watching her nod at once.

"Absolutely, an entirely understandable decision too" she replies, before taking the towel away and folding it up, putting it on the nightstand and changing her gloves again to take a small sample of my blood. She can't take it from my right arm since the vein has collapsed from overuse, so prepares the left instead. When I feel the needle pierce my arm, my mind flashes back to the basement, the cold, having the needle poked into my arm and my blood stolen. It is then that I begin to cry like a mad woman, and instantly feel Eric next to me, holding me close to him.

"They took her blood from her, so I think it's safe to say this is why she's so distressed" he explains to Vivienne.

"They took her blood?" she says in shock, her voice whispery and her eyes wide.

"It has extreme strengthening effects on vampires. She's not entirely human but a rare supernatural. The vampire holding her captive was selling it for five thousand dollars for five fluid ounces" he tells her as I start calming down again, feeling her clean the needle prick and press a piece of cotton to it, bending my arm at the elbow.

"The bastard" she exclaims quietly shaking her head. I make an arrangement to go and see her at 6pm tomorrow evening and with that she gathers her medical equipment and leaves as quickly as she came.

"What I've been waiting for, just you and me. Everything else can wait for now" I tell Eric, picking up the pregnancy test off the bed and putting it on the nightstand. Everything but everything else really can wait, because all I want right now is to just lie here with him with the comforting coolness of his skin pressed to mine once more. Words cannot explain how much I've missed this.

**Authors note - A huge, HUGE thank you to all for reading, and to those kind enough to leave a regular review. I appreciate your kindness so much :) xx**


	52. Chapter 52

Tyra's POV.

"It's okay, it's me, it's just me" Eric tells me after I wake up in a blind panic. He'd started to stroke my stomach as I slept, and when the feeling woke me I suddenly didn't remember I was home, my sleepy sense confusing the coolness of Eric with the coldness of the basement and thinking I was still there with Brendan beckoning once more. This all leads me up to now, gasping for breath that I steadily regain, resting my folded arms on my knees and my head down on them while Eric strokes my back. I then wince as my side and thigh burn in pain again, lying back down carefully.

"I could fucking kill him for making me feel like this, especially around you" I tell him, my throat tight with a sob I refuse to let out. I will cry no more tears for that man and what he did.

"You can finish off what's left once I'm done. That is if I can compose my rage not to just tear him limb from limb" he replies, his voice bitter and cold.

"I'd like that, believe me I'd like that" I tell him, turning away and sniffing heavily. I won't cry, I won't cry.

"I can't pretend I know what you're going through right now, although I can pick up on it of course. But I know someone who will. I'll be back soon my beauty" he tells me, giving me a kiss (and a proper one too, now my lip has healed thanks to his blood) and leaving. Ten seconds later and Pam walks through the door.

"Hello Terry Waite" she says with a smile, referencing perhaps one of the world's most famous hostages. My predicament wasn't half as bad as his though. He was held prisoner for over a thousand days. I think my heart would have died without Eric for that long.

"Hello gorgeous" I tell her, smiling as she sits down and then leans in and gives me a soft kiss on the cheek. She then takes a proper look at me and looks sad, shaking her head.

"The motherfucker" she whispers, her fangs popping out as her anger rises.

"Do I really look that bad? Eric has kept me out of the way of the mirrors so far, and I was slapped around a few more times since I last looked into one" I ask her.

"You're eye is very black, and you're bruised heavily down this side of your face, and on your forehead here on the other side where the cut near your eyebrow is. But other than that no, you don't look that bad. Just like you but very tired, and very distressed. I don't blame you one bit either, when you have happen what happened to you it doesn't matter how strong you are, it knocks you for six. I know because it happened to me" she says, shocking me with what she reveals at the end.

"What? When?" I exclaim quietly and then ask her.

"A long, long time ago, when I was still a human woman, when I was a whore to be precise" she tells me, her eyes never leaving mine. Just looking into them, suddenly I can tell she knows exactly what I'm going through. She then gets onto the bed properly, and puts her arm around my shoulders. I rest my head against her shoulder as she begins to tell me the story.

"The year was 1871, and I was working as a prostitute in Tallahassee, where I originally come from as you know" she begins, while I watch her close her eyes and remember back to that time, and that place. "I right in the middle of the city, sharing a house with six other working girls. We all looked after each other, all looked out for each other. You had to back then; our profession was just so dangerous. It still is in certain parts of the world I suppose. I knew of girls who ended up having a razor to their throats after a job rather than a fistful of coins. It was so much easier for an unscrupulous punter to kill the whore he'd just had sex with rather than pay her. Murderers were rarely caught because it was so easy back then to get away with it" she begins, while I nod and look up at her whenever she turns to look at me.

"I made good money for a working girl; I could charge more because I was no bargain basement whore. I'm a pretty woman so I expected a better payout. And even though as you know men are not my preference I was talented, I could excite them quickly and thoroughly. I also carried a knife with me in my garter belt at all times, and I had to use it in threat on a few occasions too. Like I said, prostitution is dangerous. Anyway, one night I was walking my usual area just ten minutes from my home when I was approached by two men. They told me they'd pay me extra if one could have sex with me and the other watch, then swap over. Of course I didn't agree and began to walk away when suddenly I was grabbed from behind and dragged into an alleyway between the buildings. Then, everything just happened so fast" she says, her voice becoming a little faint as I nod.

"I reached for my knife, but the second man grabbed it and tossed it right out of my reach. Then the man who had pulled me into the alleyway held my arms behind my back while the other one began beating me, punching me in the face and head so hard I thought I was going to pass out. I kicked out and tried to catch him with the heel of my boots but he pulled out a pistol and jammed the barrel into my mouth, and told me if I made another sound he'd blow my head off. And then...then" she stops, her voice shaking a little. "Then they tore my petticoats and under garments away from me, and took it in turns to rape me at gunpoint while they both spat at me, beat me, and called me a filthy, dirty hooker. That wasn't enough for them though, they had to humiliate me further by robbing me of my jewellery, my money and any dignity I had left by tearing all my clothes off and leaving me there naked. I thought they were about to get away with it too, when through my haze as I lay there on the ground I saw something moving so fast I couldn't detect it, and then saw my assailants fall to the ground, both missing their throats entirely. The bodies were then dragged away at speed, again by something I couldn't see because it moved too fast. That something came back for me though. That something was Eric" she tells me. I didn't know a single thing about how Eric and Pam met before now, and I really had no idea that this was the situation they met in. I wouldn't have guessed it if you gave me a hundred years to either.

"You must have been so scared, when you know what's coming, the horror you feel is more real than you ever imagined. No matter how hard you try and block it out" I tell her, taking her hand in mine and feeling her squeeze it.

"Yes, yes I was. I was so scared, but I fought back at first like I know you probably did too. I didn't make it easy for them. So this is why I want you to know, and to never forget its okay to be frightened. It's okay to feel scared and vulnerable over what happened to you because no one will hold it against you, no one, and if they do you send them to me. Brendan is the one who should be feeling the shame, not you sweetheart" she tells me, her voice quivering with emotion as we just sit and hug each other. I never imagined I'd receive this kind of support from Pam, mainly because I never imagined this could have ever happened to her.

"I hate how vulnerable I feel, how even Eric touching my stomach just a moment ago made me nearly leap out of my skin in fright, all because of him and what he did to me. I accept why he did it, but it doesn't take the memory away of when he was actually doing it" I reply, feeling her arm tightening around me protectively.

"I promise you, you shall not feel like this forever. I didn't, and if I'm honest I was not as strong and confident as you are when I was human. Vampirism helped me gain that, but you don't need to resort to that because I know you'll get through this. Boden women are very, very strong so Eric always told me. I see that so clearly in you" she tells me, holding my face in her hands and stroking my tears that have come again with her thumbs. "Shhhhh, no more tears for him now, he doesn't deserve them" she adds, kissing my cheek and settling me again, actually pulling me onto her lap and cradling me like a mother would a child.

"Tell me what happened next, after Eric found you" I ask her after I've taken a few moments to compose myself.

"I remember seeing him standing above me, and thought he was going to do to me what he'd done to them. I remember how well dressed he was, he was so immaculate for one thing. Except for the fact he had blood all over him. He didn't look like the other men of the time though, even though he was dressed like one. There was something different about him. I was scared, but relaxed when he took off his long coat and wrapped me up in it, and then carried me through the back streets to his home. Once there, he had a maid donate me some clothes and draw me a bath, and afterwards when I was all fixed up and feeling a little better he sat me down and told me he'd been watching me for months, thought I was a strong and independent woman, and what he'd been looking for" she explains before continuing again.

"I asked him what he meant, and he told me he was something I would have only heard in stories, a fabled creature of the night. A vampire, and as soon as the words left his lips I was out of the chair and running for the door! But he blocked my way, told me to be seated and that if his intention was to hurt me he would have killed me where he found me, that he wouldn't have saved my life by killing those two men before they would have killed me. He sat me down again and told me that although my career as a prostitute was one he respected, saying 'a woman's body is hers to do with as she pleases' as he put it, that he thought I was better than that. He also said I should never have to go through that kind of pain and fear again, and that in making me a vampire I would never have to. He told me he'd wanted to make a progeny for many, many decades but had never found someone he thought worthy enough. He told me that after observing my no nonsense manner with my punters from afar, how I was always well turned out and many other things he wanted to give me a better life. By giving me eternal life and the power to fight off anyone who put me in that position again" she tells me, while I sit and take it all in.

"The most important thing I'm trying to say though is that Eric made sure that would never happen to me again, and he'll make damn sure of the same with you too. Right now all I can say is, I'd hate to be Brendan"...

Eric's POV.

After leaving Tyra with Pam there is one very urgent thing I have to begin. Moving to the basement I see Poontang coming out from the open door and stop to scratch her head before she continues down to the apartment. She'll be pleasantly surprised to see her owner back there after an evening of killing rats. Before I head inside I gather myself, restraining the anger pulsing through my system. He will suffer before he dies; I have to remain calm enough to keep this goal in mind. Walking over to where the man is chained up, forced to stand with his arms above his head in chains and one around his throat I stand about an inch from his face and just glare at him, watching as he tries to match that glare before punching him clean in the stomach. Not full force of course, or my fist would have exited his back.

"As I'm sure you can work out, you're in a hell of a lot of trouble Brendan. As I'm certain my lady warned you while you were beating the shit out of her and raping her, it's never advisable to piss off a vampire as bad tempered as I am. You see, I could feel every single ounce of torture you put her through, and for that you've granted yourself a lengthy stay here in my basement. Where I will put you through everything dared do to her, and believe me, I do mean everything...and much more" I tell him quietly, before biting into his ear and tearing it off. He screams in pain as his blood begins to gush, trying to fight back with kicks but finding that effort futile when I grab each leg in turn and slowly begin to build the pressure up, until he's screaming at the top of his lungs and begging me to stop.

"Did you stop when she begged you to?" I ask him before cracking his thigh bone in two. More screaming follows.

"I SAID DID YOU STOP WHEN SHE BEGGED YOU TO? ANSWER ME!" I roar at him, millimetres from his face as I hold my hand to his throat tightly.

"NO!" he shouts through his cries of pain.

"You showed her no mercy, now I show you none too. You asked for this" I tell him before kicking him in each of his broken legs, making him howl in agony.

"No, stop, I was forced to do it! Russell would have killed me if I didn't!" He begs.

"Save your begging, and your pathetic lies. You enjoyed every last second of what you put her through, just as I will enjoy every last second of what I intend to put you though. But there's a difference here Brendan, someone came to save Tyra, no one will come and save you from this fate" I snarl at him, before doing exactly what I promised when I said I'd inflict everything he did to her upon him, in short by removing my clothes and tearing off all of his before raping him within an inch of his life while he screams for me to stop.

"Once again, I can wager you didn't bother stopping while you were doing this to her" I tell him into the ear he actually still has intact as I grab a handful of his hair and yank his head back, carrying on, and on, and on. He's in tears by the time I'm finished, hysterical, ashamed, scared tears. I know Tyra would have always been brave enough never to let him see her cry. He's pathetic.

"Just remember, it's your turn to suffer now, and suffer you will. It doesn't end there" I tell him, before then beating him severely, my fists connecting with his face and body and breaking every single bone they meet. I leave him then, in total agony but not enough for his injuries to cause him to die. He can hang there like that for as long as I see fit and feel the fear and the dread of it all happening to him again, just how she felt at his hands. Picking up my clothes I leave the basement quickly and fly back through the apartment and straight into the shower to wash myself off thoroughly and then dress again.

"We've had a chat, and I think it's made her feel a little better" Pam tells me after getting off the bed and walking over to me.

"Thank you. I knew if there was anyone who'd understand what's going on up in her head it'd be you" I tell her, reaching forward and kissing her forehead before she leaves.

"How are you feeling now?" I ask Tyra as I lie down on the bed next to her.

"Better for talking to Pam, much better" she replies.

"I knew you would, it'll all take time before you're one hundred percent mentally and physically better again, time you need to give yourself too so until I say so you're not even leaving this bed unless it's to go to the bathroom. You are under my strictest instructions not to move a muscle while I look after you" I tell her, watching her raise her eyebrows.

"One little kitty, and one bossy boyfriend, oh yeah, I'm home alright" she says with a little laugh before wincing in pain and holding her side.

"Yes, home where you belong" I tell her kissing her head and watching her fussing the cat. I don't know who looks more pleased to have her home either between me and Poontang. She starts yawning pretty heavily soon after and I let her go back to sleep, taking the cat with me and heading over to the couch where I sit and switch off for a few hours. That zoned out time ends when I hear Tyra grumbling in pain, and turn to see her walking carefully back from the bathroom.

"Like pissing razors" she tells me as I help her back into bed.

"I can imagine. I can help with that too, if you'd be willing to let me touch you that intimately. The touch of my hand on your stomach spooked you enough, I don't want to cause you any further distress" I tell her, watching her smile at me and reach out and stroke my arm.

"It would bring me a lot of relief. It's so painful" she tells me, while I nod and then tear my index finger up on one of my fangs until it's bleeding heavily, then gently and slowly push it into her very sore looking vagina. She shuts her eyes tightly and winces while I let it bleed there until it heals, gently withdrawing it and gashing it again to rub blood over the external tears she has. I think I just decided I'm going to cut Brendan's dick off for this, for seeing up close the extent of what he's done here. Even more so for the news that follows a few moments later when Tyra goes back into the bathroom to fetch something. She comes back with a look on her face that tells me what she went in there to do.

"The reason I needed to pee in the first place was to take the test. I'm pregnant" she replies, sighing heavily and rubbing her hands over her face and through her hair, looking pained, repulsed even at the very idea. After everything that happened to her, and now she has this to endure too. She climbs back onto the bed and curls up next to me; resting her head on my chest and her arm over my stomach.

"I can take a pill to make it go away, it's no big deal. It only would have been if it got time to grow, then I'd need a semi surgical termination of course. I'll be fine, I hate the fact I'm carrying something of his within me, I really fucking hate it. But it'll be gone soon" she says, while I just press my hand into her back and then stroke her shoulders.

"It's a big deal to me, that you were put in this situation, and that this is now the end result" I tell her, frowning deeply. We sit there in silence for a few moments before her cell begins ringing, and I leave her to take the call from her father in privacy.

"How is she now?" Pam asks me when I enter her apartment a few moments later.

"Pregnant" I reply grimly. I'll definitely cut Brendan's dick off for this. As she stated luckily it's nothing that cannot be sorted quickly though, but still, he will be punished further for participating in this. After we spend the day sleeping (Tyra is permanently exhausted understandably and sleeps again easily, because of her injuries and lack of proper rest for the last fortnight) I take her for her appointment with Vivienne. Saying she wanted to spare me the misery she's brought Deborah along with us, so she can get herself some food from the grocery store on the way back. I'm glad she did, she needs help walking and pushing the cart and grocery stores are beyond my level of comfort. Well, I think they are at least. I've never been in one to test the theory. It seems a remarkably quick outing even with the forty minute drive to Monroe and back, and after she's eaten something she sits and reads the leaflet that comes with the tablets she has to take to make the pregnancy go away naturally.

"Basically it's only going to be like a heavy menstruation at this stage, since there's really nothing there yet. It says I might get sick or have an upset stomach, and to expect bad cramps. I took a pill while I was there; I have to take the second one forty eight hours from when I had the first and that's it. It'll be done with" she tells me as we sit together on the bed. She can actually sit up now with being in too much pain internally, so is sat between my legs leaning back on my chest right now.

"I'm glad, the sooner it's gone the sooner things will feel more normal for you I should imagine" I tell her, stroking her hair.

"When it's fathers dead too, then I'll be totally content. I'm just glad it doesn't get to live, that the poor little thing doesn't get to be sold to god knows who if it's female. Glad you got me out of there, I'll never be able to thank you enough for that" she tells me, turning her head and kissing my neck, resting her head there on my shoulder.

"You'd do the same for me if I was taken from you" I tell her, kissing her head.

"I would" she agrees, and I know that to completely true. Forty eight hours and a lot of grumbling about stomach cramps and heavy bleeding later and her very early pregnancy is in the stages of becoming non existent, and things start to feel more normal. Well, except Brendan is still in the basement, but I'm having too much fun torturing him to end that just yet.

**Authors note - A huge, HUGE thank you to all for reading, and to those kind enough to leave a regular review. I appreciate your kindness so much :) xx**


	53. Chapter 53

Eric's POV.

"Fore!" shouts Fabien joyously as he swings the golf club back, and then hits the huge steel ball bearing off the tee in front of us. It hits Brendan straight in the left cheekbone.

"Good shot old chap" I tell him, mimicking an upper class British accent while Brendan screams in pain.

"Why thank you old boy" He replies in the same voice. We're having a hell of a lot of fun right now, having a round of golf in the cellar, using ball bearings as golf balls and Brendan as a target. "Oh damn and blast this cursed tee! Doesn't seem to want to stay up unassisted!" he continues, still in the same mimicking voice.

"Well how about we cut down the old cad we have chained up over yonder, and put the tee between his teeth? That should solve our little problem old bean" I tell him.

"Splendid idea squire!" he replies, while we both double over laughing evilly. Two vampires pretending to be British aristocracy as we torture the pathetic human we have chained up down here is very entertaining I must admit. Fabien has always had a knack of bringing out the slightly lighter hearted side of me. Hearing us having so much fun as we do it only unsettles Brendan's head further as well, which is exactly what I want.

"Now then sonny boy, the object of the game is that you lie here like so, and if you move a muscle you'll have a nine iron to the old noggin. Are we clear? Good, now be a sport and open your mouth and pop this between your teeth. There's a fella!' Fabien tells him after lengthening the chains Brendan is tied with meaning he can lay flat out on the floor, still with the British voice as he makes Brendan hold the tee between his teeth.

"FORE! Oh bloody hell will you look at that! I've gone and missed, caught the dear old boy right in the jaw I did. We shall have to cancel badminton this afternoon so I can work on my swing" he then says after swinging the iron straight into Brendan's face.

"That's enough freedom for one day for you pal" he then snarls at him, back to his usual tone of voice as he pulls at the chains and sends him back up to hanging position, and then turns and swings the club straight into his side. I hear a rib crack and smirk even more than I am already. His pain brings me the greatest joy. With that we leave the basement, Fabien collecting the other club off me he brought with me on the way and leaving them outside my apartment before we go in.

"How is my favourite blonde feeling today then?" he asks Tyra, going over to the bed and sitting at the end with his back to one of the posts.

"Bored and sore" she replies. Her wrist is all heavily strapped up since her hospital visit since it was giving her trouble, and even though she's on strong painkillers they don't completely mask the pain. She's refused to take any more of my blood, saying that it makes her feel too dizzy and out of it and that she wants to be awake rather than sleeping all the time. I don't blame her for that at all. She can do or not do whatever the hell she wants. It means she won't heal as quickly but she told me she'd rather be able to have conversations with people and heal at the normal rate rather than feel fuzzy headed all of the time. Also Vivienne instructed me not to either, since it was discovered she does have a small fracture to her right eye socket, and that it needs to heal up in its own time since it's already begun knitting together. Also a full body scan revealed bruising to some of her internal organs from being kicked repeatedly. She has a bruised kidney and liver, not severe enough to warrant any urgent action, but bad enough to hold her in pain.

"So what mischief have you two been up to? You both look way too amused for my liking right now" she then says as she looks between us with suspicion.

"Playing a round of golf with Brendan, and several of these" Fabien replies cheerfully, pulling one of the ball bearings he brought with him from his pocket.

"I like your style" she replies, smiling at us both proudly. "I wish I could join you both, but I'm in no state to be swinging golf clubs around" she then adds.

"I wish you could join us too, we feel selfish having all the fun don't we Fabien?" I tell him as I join them on the bed, having Tyra move closer and rest herself against me immediately.

"Absolutely, especially since you need to see what Pam did to him earlier" he replies, while Tyra makes an enquiring face. Fabien just so happened to bring a whole arsenal of items to use as torture devices. The golf clubs and ball bearings of course, also toxic chemicals we've sprayed him in, a blowtorch we've burned him with, and the rest we did ourselves with our own power.

"She broke a bottle then used a sharp shard to carve 'Tyra's revenge' across his chest, and then squirted acid into it" I tell her, laughing again.

"I love her" Tyra replies, laughing a little too before frowning and holding her side. Her ribs are still pretty bruised. I'm surprised none of them were broken to be honest. I'm glad she's getting nothing but pleasure over the fact he's still being held here, two days after we brought them both back. It hasn't scared her or unsettled her that he's so close by at all. Not that he could escape. I also heard on the vampire grapevine that Russell has a slight problem afoot too. Stanley passed by on his way out of Jackson for the last time (he has brought a house for him and Esmeralda down in Bon Temps, not far from Tyra's actually) he said he could still see carnage unfolding there thanks to the thirty or so demons still running wild within the mansion. Surprisingly enough, he also stated there were no AVL guards on the gate either.

Beth didn't bother reading the incantation to make said demons all plunge back to their dismal depths again it would seem. "Oh how forgetful you can be when you reach my age" she laughed when I told her about what Stanley had saw when we spoke on the phone. As thanks for her help I sent her something she needed rather than a pretty gift of flowers or jewellery. Deborah told me yesterday she was having a lot of fun with her new mobility scooter which she enjoys riding around on the fastest setting it has. Everyone else was paid handsomely, apart from Stanley and Esmeralda, whose new home I fully furnished for them. They've invited Tyra and me round to see it as soon as she's well again.

"Ooooh, I smell a Sookie and I smell her coming this way" Fabien then suddenly announces before we all hear a polite little tap at the door. He's off and running to answer it before I even have time to tell her she may come in. I'll give him this much, he never gives up. After Sookie has fought him off at the door she enters, carrying a huge bunch of mixed lilies with her and gift bag.

"Hello honey" she says to Tyra warmly, giving her the flowers and bag before bending to give her a gentle hug, a big smile of relief across her face.

"You're giving me toothache with how sweet you're being Miss S" Tyra tells her as she takes her flowers and gives them a hearty sniff, smiling at their fragrance.

"I feel I have to make it up to you, for being such an interfering bitch" she says with a smile, watching as Tyra shake her head and begin to investigate her gifts within the bag. One of them is a very nice looking frosted glass vase, as I can imagine she probably didn't think I'd have one for her bouquet to go into. She'd be right too. I make myself useful by going to put the flowers in water, and then leave the two women alone to head upstairs and drag a reluctant Fabien with me. He only finds the spring in his step when I tell him he can go and play with Brendan for a while.

Tyra's POV.

"You didn't need to do all this Sook, you're so kind" I tell my friend as she smiles at me.

"Yes I absolutely did! My lord, when Lafayette told me what had happened, I went cold. I was so worried for you" she tells me, and then smiles when I pull gift number two from the bag as she sees my delight.

"You're definitely spoiling me now!" I tell her as I look at the lovely gift set of bath lotions and potions from L'Occitane, my favourite upon favourite brand. She's like Ginger in the fact that she makes mental note of things you like. I then reach in and pull the very last thing out, which happens to be a book.

"Lafayette suggested it, I hope you enjoy it" she tells me as I study the back of the book, a book about Queen Boudicca. He's another one with a sharp memory, I think I only ever mentioned once that she was someone I'd been meaning to read up on, and that was months ago.

"I'm sure I will" I tell her, leaning forward and hugging her with my good arm and giving her a big kiss on the cheek.

"She was a very strong woman, just like you are. Jesus, I just do not think I would be able to be sitting here right now looking as content as you do if I'd been through that. You're remarkable" she tells me, shaking her head in amazement.

"It'll take time before I'm completely back to my old self again, but I'm getting there. Being back with Eric again has helped me no end, and he's taking very good care of me" I tell her, watching her nod understandingly.

"I'm glad he is" she says. She doesn't comment further upon that, I think she's still a bit nervous about discussing Eric with me, afraid she might say the wrong thing. Explaining she has to go to work she doesn't stay for much longer than half an hour, but she's not the first visitor I receive this evening. Anna and Dmitri arrive after another hour.

"Where's the little one?" I ask them, getting out of bed with Anna's help and going over to the couches to sit with them.

"We left her with my mom, for Eric's sake" she replies while guiding me down into a seat on the couch.

"I appreciate that" the vampire himself says, coming into the apartment and moving quicker than we can see to take a seat beside me, Anna sitting over on the other side next to her man.

"You must get asked this by everyone, but how are you feeling?" she asks me.

"As I said in reply to that earlier, bored and sore, but I need the rest I suppose. It's nice being home" I tell her with a smile she returns. I then notice Eric getting up and walking over to the closet to remove his jacket, looking in his pocket and then walking back over and throwing Dmitri a set of keys.

"The black SUV out back, the one you drove us to Jackson in, it's yours" he tells him before sitting down again. "A gesture of gratitude for your help" he then adds while Dmitri's eyebrows raise considerably, Anna's too.

"Man, I drive you a few hundred miles and you give me a damn car? What would I get if you needed driving to New York?" he jokes, actually making Eric smile a little and nod in acceptance of his joke. "Thank you" my friend then adds, Anna too.

"So have you told the AVL what you know yet?" Dmitri then asks.

"I tried calling Nan Flanagan yesterday evening, her cell was switched off. So I called headquarters. No answer. They're on lockdown until they can think of a way to get out of it I'd imagine; they're bound to know I know they were in on Tyra's kidnapping, that her capture was the bargaining tool Russell used to remain on house arrest. So they are lying low for now. Besides, your friend is my main focus right now. Everything else can wait" he replies, resting his hand on my inner thigh and stroking it with his thumb. I don't jump a mile when he touches me any more, which is good because I know it really bothered him.

"Well you've certainly got them in the palm of your hand. That must feel good, knowing how long they've been concocting this idea for. What about Russell? Dmitri told me something about the witch raising the dead?" Anna asks him, leaning forward a little and pulling her beautiful mane of deep golden blonde hair over her shoulder. She's gone little darker since I saw her last.

"Yes, that is exactly what she did. Currently Russell is still sharing his home with about thirty demons Beth accidentally on purpose forgot to call off when we left" he replies, looking as amused as my friends do.

"Thank you, you've no idea how much I, we, appreciate you for getting her out of there" Anna says, smiling at Eric who just nods. As tolerant to my friends as he may be I know he's reaching his limit at the amount of humans in his own personal space after they've been here an hour, and I'm beginning to feel weary so they leave at just gone 9pm. Although they aren't the last to be visiting either, since my father will be here in half an hour.

"After your father has been and gone I don't want anyone else down here. I want to be selfish with you and have you all to myself for a few days or longer. You don't have to worry about your work either; once again Cobie stepped up while you were away. He's exceedingly busy so I gather, especially since he's found you two new clients" Eric tells me as I rest my feet up on his lap.

"He has? I told him if he could land six extra clients then I could afford to take him on full time. I think it's about time I set myself a new goal, be a little more ambitious. Maybe if I really work hard at it I could take on more staff, run an actual office to manage whole host of different businesses. Did he tell you what businesses he's got the books for?" I tell him, and then ask.

"Oh he did well; he got a small diner and...a casino. The Lucky 13 out on the riverfront. Don't ask me how he did it, but he did" he replies while I feel my jaw drop slightly. A casino is the kind of work that I've never undertaken before, let alone Cobie. That's a big, big job which means I'm going to have to re evaluate just how many extra accounts we'll need to take on in light of this. That and the diner could prove enough work for Cobie alone. Casino's of course take in a massive revenue on a weekly basis. I feel a little guilty here by confessing that my work didn't cross my mind once during the time I was held captive, and there was Cobie out there landing huge accounts for me. He'll be rewarded for this.

Before I know it and before I can think of work any more my father arrives, and very, very surprisingly he's brought my mother with him. He must have told her about the whole thing eventually then, since Eric told me my father decided it best she not know at the time. The first thing she does is walk straight up to Eric, who is standing at the side of the couch. She then reaches out, and for a second I wonder what she's going to do before her hand rests on the side of his face, the other following.

"Thank you, thank you so much" she tells him quietly, pulling him down to her level and kissing his forehead, something he allows without stopping her, but not looking one hundred percent pleased.

"You're welcome" he tells her, before looking more pleased to see my father extending a hand to him.

"I know vampires do not shake hands, but please allow me to. You're a tremendous man for what you did. I can never thank you enough Eric" he tells him, with Eric shaking his hand briefly immediately.

"I did what I had to, there was no question of not bringing her home" he replies before sitting down next to me while I receive a careful hug from my mother.

"Look at your pretty face, oh you poor thing, give me a gun and I'd go and shoot them all" she tells me, inspecting my face carefully before she sits down.

"I'm okay now, still sore and tired but I'm doing much better. Not so freaked out any more" I reassure her.

"All this danger surrounding you, I'm not happy with it, what you've concerned yourself in" she replies, shaking her head.

"It isn't what she's concerned herself in; this is what she was born into. You must understand that, in being born what she was she couldn't help this, it wasn't a free choice" Eric tells her firmly but not harshly.

"Is she safe now? From this vampire?" she asks him.

"Completely" he replies confidently.

"I'm glad, I'm glad you're looking out for her" she replies with a nod. My father must have done a hell of a lot of explaining and cajoling for this, for her to be so different now. Then again, incidents like this also make people see beyond what they first thought too. Sure, she had it confirmed to her just how evil some vampires out there can be, but also she knows the one closest to home only has my best interests and well being on his agenda. I just hope Eric doesn't hold a grudge forever because no matter who it is, if someone upsets me he doesn't forget about it quickly. I think she gets the jyst of this after about an hour, when they both make their excuses and gather themselves together, ready to leave.

"Before you go, Albert, there is something I want to give you, follow me" Eric says, walking towards the apartment door. My father follows, while my mother helps me back to bed.

"This is like the routine we had when you fell off your roller skates and broke your ankle. One step and breathe, two steps and breathe!" she tells me while I hobble along, holding her hand and arm tightly.

"I remember, and I remember how I never put them on again after that" I reply.

"They gathered dust under the stairs with the redundant scooter, empty worm farm and that noisy radio controlled car your father brought you when you were seven that you never let us throw away" she reminisces as we get to the bed and I climb in. "You never did find interest in the usual little girl things did you?" she adds while tucking me in.

"I had to be different" I reply, reaching for my bottle of water. Like any good mother, she brought provisions with her. A big stack of fresh fruit, four litres of mineral water, and a bag full of homemade fresh soups for me to heat in the microwave.

"That's who you are, you're unconventional. I suppose I have to learn to accept it's the way you'll always be too. Especially in your decision to date a vampire" she tells me after taking a deep breath.

"You want to know the complete truth? It isn't the fact that he's a vampire; the Viking thing does more for me than that does. I wasn't interested in him at the start because of that, I just didn't find vampires attractive. It was just him I fell for, who he is and not what he is. We're very similar, I hope you'll see that when you get to know him a little" I reply, watching her nod.

"If he wants me to know him that is, he seems a little hostile towards me. He has good reason to be though" she replies.

"I can't argue with that. You did say some pretty terrible things to me mom, your words hurt" I confide.

"I'm sorry for what I said, for hurting you like that sweetheart. My small mindedness got the better of me. I'm not going to pretend to suddenly like vampires, but I will be more willing to open my mind to them, especially in light of this. Of yours saving you in the way he did. If he lets me that is" she replies, looking honestly very sorry.

"He doesn't forget being pissed off at someone in a hurry" I reply.

"Typical Viking I suppose" she says, looking a little nervous before she laughs, making me smile. At least she's acknowledged she was wrong, and acknowledges that Eric does have a reason too be pissed at her. Speaking of Eric...

Eric's POV.

"I said I wanted to give you something, and I do. Here's a putting iron, and through that door is the man who beat and raped your daughter. I'm giving you the opportunity all fathers want who have been through this" I tell Albert as we arrive outside of the basement, passing him the iron and watching him raise his eyebrows as he examines it.

"Do you have pliers and a blow torch by chance?" he asks me.

"Funnily enough, there is a blow torch down there on a table full of other items an associate of mine brought with him. No pliers, but there's knives" I tell him, watching him nod.

"Eric, I thank you for this. I'll be back in a little while" he replies.

"Just do one thing, leave him alive. The final blow to end him isn't coming from either of us. That's the responsibility of one person alone" I tell him, and he nods in complete understanding of who I mean before going into the basement, and by the sounds of it making Brendan suffer considerably by the decibels of his screams. He's in there for a much shorter time than I expected, exiting just ten minutes later.

"I left the iron down there, the end is pretty hot. I'll just go wash up then Joyce and I will be leaving" he tells me before heading up the next flight of steps to the restroom. I venture into the basement and down the steps, and find out immediately why Albert didn't take too long. The damage he did in the short space of time was enough, since right now as I look on at Brendan, who is making agonised noises of pain I see he's missing his dick. All he has left behind is a still slightly smouldering quarterized wound. That must be why he wanted the blow torch then, to heat the metal iron up to seal it and prevent him from bleeding to death. I'm not angry at all that he beat me to that particular fate Brendan had coming to him. If my own daughter had of lived long enough and this happen to her, I'd have done exactly the same thing to the man who did it.

"You will suffer further still" I tell a howling Brendan with a wink, before leaving the basement to his pleas of 'please, please let me go, please!' which I shut out as I close the door and go back to Tyra, the one who doesn't know yet that in ten days, hers will be the last face Brendan ever sees.

**Authors note - A huge, HUGE thank you to all for reading, and to those kind enough to leave a regular review. I appreciate your kindness so much :) xx**


	54. Chapter 54

Tyra's POV.

Looking at myself naked in the full length mirror on the back of Eric's wardrobe door, I finally look like me again. I have a few pink marks and a couple of scabs here and there, and a few patches of very pale yellow bruises still dotted around, but for the most part I'm me again. My hair has its shine back, my face is unblemished save a very small scar just above my eyebrow (that was too old for vampire blood to heal over, it only works on newer injuries that have not begun the healing process) and I'm not in severe pain any longer. I still ache a bit on my bad arm where I sustained wrist and shoulder injuries, and a little on my side and leg, but everything else is fine. It's amazing what two weeks of sitting there doing nothing can do for you. The only ache I'm left with now is one that's much more manageable; it's the ache for Eric.

I had a chat with Pam about it last night actually. I asked her how she felt towards sex after rape, because I felt it was wrong perhaps that I had no bad feelings about it, that every time I've looked at Eric naked since I've been back I've wanted to pounce on him. She laughed at first, and then told me I'd made tremendous progress if I was seeing things like that.

"Eric doesn't rape you does he? When you have sex with him it's because you want to, because it gives you both pleasure. Even though it's the same act in itself, it's a million miles away from what Brendan did to you isn't it?" she said to me. She told me it was good that I could easily differentiate forced sex and willing sex, and advised me not to rush into anything if I wasn't feeling sure. Of course Eric has totally understood, and I know this because he hasn't even mentioned the word 'sex' let alone instigated it. I know he's waiting for me to be the one to broach it first out of respect after what happened to me. Well he shall find that subject is broached very, very soon. But first, I need a bath.

Heading back out of the walk in wardrobe I throw a wink at the sexy vampire who is looking over the top of a book at me, and then disappear into the bathroom, putting the plug into the hole and turning the hot tap on. I then go over to where I emptied the contents of the gift set Sookie brought for me and take the bath foam, pouring a liberal amount under the tap and breathing in the beautiful smell as it rises in the steam and bubbles the water. It's at that moment that I can feel him standing in the doorway before I even turn around.

"Well that face says it all" I tell him, while he suddenly laughs a little and covers his face with his hands, a very un-Eric way to act.

"Sorry, I know it's wildly inappropriate considering what you've been through. I just cannot help it. You're naked and you look good enough to eat" he tells me, trying not to smile.

"It's not inappropriate at all, because it's you and not him. Big difference, because I like the things you do to me. Besides, I can understand from your point of view too. When was the last time you went without sex for a month?" I ask him.

"When Ida was pregnant with Elisabet" he replies, after looking thoughtful for a few moments.

"There you go, you must be terribly frustrated and I understand that" I tell him as I sit on the side of the tub.

"I've been waiting for you to give me the go ahead, it's not something I've wanted to upset you over by instigating before you're ready. As I'm sure you must've worked out" he tells me with a smile, leaning against the doorframe.

"I did, and I thank you for being so considerate too. I think I should be ready by the time I've finished having a bath" I tell him as I get up and walk over to where he's standing, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him once I'm there. It's the kind of kiss that I haven't had since before I was away, the kind of kiss that makes my heart beat begin to speed up as it deepens and lengthens. I feel his hands slide down my back and grip my ass as he groans deeply, while I run my hands up and down his chest, feeling all those gorgeous hard muscles quiver beneath my fingers. Then I find myself picked up and pushed against the door frame, my legs locking around his waist and my arms round his neck, a very hard bulge pressing between my legs through his black jeans.

"I think I should put you down now, or you won't get to the bath at all. At least not without me still attached" he tells me reluctantly, letting be back down to the floor again.

"Good idea, I won't keep you waiting for too long" I tell him before untangling myself from him and going back into the bathroom with my insides burning. Not burning in pain, but burning with anticipation for my vampire. I've missed sex too, even throughout everything I had to suffer because of it. Like Pam said, it's different when it's Eric. His touch is to excite, not to cause harm and right now, I'm dying to feel it again. Dying to feel that inner ache for him to be sated and satisfied completely. First things first though, my nice hot bath awaits me. Letting him wait a little longer won't hurt. Since I washed my hair last night in the shower I tie it all up so it doesn't get wet and jump right in, relaxing down into the steaming hot water and reaching for soap, a razor and a sponge. Once I'm washed, shaved all over and have relaxed a little more, I decide I'm the one who really cannot wait any longer. I need my vampire, and I need him now.

I don't bother dressing when I'm out of the bath, I just dry off, untie and brush my hair through and then head back out to find Eric lying on the bed on his back reading. The book gets put down in favour of me though when I crawl across the bed and sit astride him, his hands resting on my hips and then slowly sliding up my back as he pulls me down to his level and kisses me. Immediately the feeling of his clothes brushing my nakedness and his stubble scratching my face as we kiss begins to slowly turn me on, that and the feeling of his hands now cupping my breasts, his fingers pinching at my nipples.

"I think you could stand to lose a few items of clothing" I tell him, pulling away from our kiss and moving my hands to take off his shirt. He pulls them away though, and then moves so fast that before I know it I'm underneath him, my arms pinned to the bed either side of my head.

"I'm planning on taking my time, so don't worry about me for now. Now is all about you" he tells me, before his mouth descends my neck and I feel his lips kiss the side of it softly, slowly, so sensuously it makes goosebumps pop up all over my body. I then jump in a pleasantly surprised way when I feel his tongue start to flicker across the sensitive skin, and his fangs scratch my throat. Immediately though he stops and looks at me, just to double make sure that little jolt of my body was a good one, smiling at me in a satisfied way when he's certain before back to kissing my neck he goes. While he does this his hands slowly roam my body, back and front and down my arms until his hands connect with mine, his mouth moving to the other side of my neck for more of the same. His tongue circles around a spot on my neck a few more times before I feel him move to then administer that same action around one of my nipples, sucking it gently before suddenly biting it, making me squeak with surprise and then moan at how good it feels.

The lower his mouth travels, the more I feel the anticipation build. But he's in no hurry to give me all out gratification, licking me from my navel to my throat before kissing me again, a kiss that only breaks when he allows me to remove him of his shirt. His hardened nipples graze my palms as I run my hands down his chest slowly, over the deep ridges of muscle and down to his stomach, my mouth leaving his and finding his neck. I bite and kiss it as my nails gently rake up and down over his chest and around onto his back, that deep aroused growl only vampires can make suddenly filling my ear before his teeth bite the lobe. That noise alone makes my whole body tremble.

His body feels so hard and cold against mine, so arousing, and his skin so beautiful. Gorgeous, cool, alabaster skin with muscles beneath that look chiselled. He's the vampire version of a Michelangelo, absolutely perfect to the eye. I can't see much of it right now though since he's moved further down the bed, lying between my legs as he kisses my stomach, his tongue then circling my navel slowly. The burning anticipation, mixed with a little bit of nervousness over being touched so intimately again subsides when I feel his tongue gently starting to explore me between my legs. I let out a shuddering breath and close my eyes when I feel his tongue lick the tip of my clit, his fingers gently rubbing against my inner lips as they open me wider and his tongue invades me further.

He gives my clit so much attention with each firm lick from his tongue that I'm moaning like I'm on the verge of orgasm within minutes. He's just too talented with his mouth, and keen to remind me just how willing he is to please me with his tongue too. Mainly because I don't see his face for the next hour, or feel anything but the pleasure repeatedly exploding into many orgasms as he licks and sucks at my clit. The only change I feel is the sudden sharp sting of his fangs penetrating my thigh as he feeds from me, from his favourite spot. Feeding from the femoral artery of an aroused woman is a favourite amongst vampires, especially mine. He seals the wound once he's done, kissing my body from thigh to hip as he looks up at me, and then moves suddenly and pulls me on top of him so I'm kneeling either side of his head, his mouth going back to my pussy and continuing to lick me to frenzy and back.

I wrap my arms around the bedpost in front of me and rest my head against one of my wrists, my breathing becoming quicker as I feel my body shudder and shake its way to orgasm number...I've lost count. I think this is his intention too, to make me so dizzy with pleasure I forget about the horribleness Brendan left me feeling regarding being touched intimately. He's doing a brilliant job of it too. But still when I find myself moved again so I'm underneath him, when I feel his hardness press for entrance and then slowly slide inside me while he kisses my neck, my body suddenly freezes and I tense all over. Immediately he stops and just lies there idle inside me, looking down at me with concern as he strokes my face.

"It's me now, not him. I only want to make you happy, not make you suffer, remember that. Just tell me when you feel comfortable again, okay?" he assures me, kissing me deeply.

"Okay" I whisper in reply, stroking his hair and kissing him again, remembering what he told me. It's him, my lover, my best friend and my everything. He doesn't want to hurt me, and he isn't going to either. It is with this in mind that my body begins to settle down, muscles relaxing as a feeling of warmth begins to run through me. When he feels that relaxation in me happen he begins to move again, very slowly and carefully while still kissing me fiercely, his arousal building faster with every move his body makes against mine, his deep groans escalating.

"Is that okay?" he asks me.

"It's wonderful" I tell him, smiling at him before we kiss again, and things start to speed up a little more. But still it takes more time than I can count for things to become really heated between us, both enjoying the slow burn sex our voracious sexual appetites often do not allow. As the time passes that pace changes though, each thrust from his thick vein ridged cock making me wetter and tighter around him, my pulse racing like the beat of a kick drum as we move against each other quicker, until...

"AHHHHHH FUCK!" That was me having perhaps one of the most intense orgasms I've ever had, and because of it Eric now has eight deep gashes from my nails in his back. He bites my neck in return and continues to fuck me into the bed, my arms and legs locked around him tightly as I groan deeply over and over. We spend the next three and a half hours enjoying each other thoroughly, in varying locations around the apartment too. Starting in the bed, we moved on to the couch, then the chair, on the writing desk, against the wall and on the floor to name a few locations. Finishing where we start, I rest my head against his damp chest (damp from the sweat that's been coming off me) and fight to catch my breath again.

"So are you pleasantly exhausted now?" Eric asks me.

"Yes" I reply.

"Tingling in all the places you should be tingling?"

"Most definitely"

"Good, it's all part of the service". I begin laughing after that remark, turning my head and looking up at him, watching him pull that semi amused half smile face he does.

"The vampire sex service?" I ask him, amused.

"Exactly that" he replies, before flashing me a grin, something he hardly ever does and because of that never fails to make me laugh. Once I'm done I move to lie on top of him, and stroke his hair as I kiss him. Just when I think about instigating more, when I move I feel an ache inside that makes me reconsider. That ache only reminds me of one thing though, and it isn't the pain I felt because of the man chained up in the basement. It's because Eric has a nine inch cock and damn does he know how to use it. Since we're both covered in a fine sheen of sweat and blood the shower is where we head next, and after being careful not to wet it in the bath my hair gets soaked of course. Not that I mind much, Eric is partial to shower sex after all so it's worth it.

"I've managed to talk Lafayette into meeting me upstairs for a drink tonight after he gets off at Merlotte's, will you join us?" I ask Eric over the dull roar of Dimmu Borgir, one of the bands featured in my I-pod playlist that he's just put into the dock I brought him. He likes minimalism and music, so I got him that and an I-pod a just after we came back from Norway. He just uses mine though; he hasn't even set his up yet.

"I'll be around, but I'll leave you to talk to your friend in peace. You look very sexy by the way, I like you all in black the most" he tells me approvingly. I've got my long tight black skirt on, so long I have to wear very high heels to prevent tripping over it, and a simple long sleeve black top cut low at the front. I've tied my hair up for a change, securing it with a clip to leave the ends free and haphazard looking with a few strands pulled loose at the front and back.

"Oh I was going to ask you, is there anything from your home you'd like me to fetch for you? It's been two weeks since you've been there after all" he then asks me, coming to sit behind me where I sit perched on the edge of the couch, finishing my makeup of black eyes and bare lips, which is another favourite of Eric's.

"Can I write you a list? Or punch something into a message on your cell and save it?" I ask him, putting my eyebrow brush down and dabbing my finger into my small pot of lip balm to apply to my mouth.

"Of course, and I see your ring is one of the things I need to fetch, since I know you'd have it on it you had it here" he replies, taking my hand and rubbing the spot my lovely ring once occupied.

"I'm afraid it isn't. I had it on when I was taken, and a vampire named Estilo saw it fit to take it from me and destroy it" I tell him, hearing the sadness in my voice that I feel whenever I remember it. I hate that I lost something that meant so much to me.

"I shall have to search for a fitting replacement then" he replies, looking angry at the fate of the last one for a few moments, before his expression looks more serious than angry. "Speaking of that time, there is something from that which needs to be brought to an end" he then adds. I turn to look at him, and I think I know what he's about to elaborate upon.

"Brendan. I think you should be the one to end him. If you don't want to, fine. I can think of no greater pleasure than going and decapitating him with my bare hands, but I want you to have the opportunity to end him in any way you see fit" he offers, while I nod and think on it for a few moments. A flash of him on top of me, licking my cheek and holding my throat tightly in his grip goes through my head and I shut my eyes tightly. I then stand up and stride towards the door, Eric ahead of me suddenly, taking my hand in his and leading the way. When we arrive in the basement I can hardly believe Brendan is still alive when I take in his injuries.

It is as I walk closer to him, Eric going to stand over by the wall to the side of us that I really see the damage. It is right there and then that I know I'll never need to worry about Eric not telling me he loves me. I can see it here in what he's done to the man hanging here in front of me. No one makes someone suffer like that if they don't truly love the person they made them suffer for. See, I always see the beauty in carnage, in violence. I see a table to the side of him, with a lot of items Fabien told me he'd brought with him, and take the only thing I need. I choose the Indian hunting knife, which I carry back over to Brendan and hold by my side as I stand an inch from his face, and then laugh.

"The one thing that kept me going through what you and your son of a bitch boss put me through was what I held in my heart, what I knew was coming to you. Now you're going to know in yours how much the phrase 'I told you so' stings. I told you, motherfucker. I told you this would happen" I tell him, my words becoming an enraged snarl as I press the tip of the blade over his heart and then without hesitation, and the greatest of ease I plunge it straight into his chest. Vampire blood makes you strong, and after what Eric put my body through in the shower I needed plenty of it. I stare at Brendan, watching his eyes as he dies in front of me, waiting for the flicker of light, the illumination of life through them to fade to nothing which it does after a few moments. He's gone. He can never hurt me, or more importantly any other woman again. He deserves no second thought, so I give him none. I just walk over to my man and put my arms around him.

"Thank you for allowing me to do that" I tell him, stroking his chest through the grey shirt he's wearing with his black suit. He looks so damn handsome.

"It was only right" he tells me, stroking the back of my hands and leaning down to kiss me. We leave the basement and he makes a phone call to someone, telling them he has 'a dead breather that needs removing and disposing of' as he worded it. He then takes me upstairs and sits with me while I have a much enjoyed Guinness and marvel at the oddly curved looking glass Ginger poured the bottle of it into for me.

"You can't have it in a pint glass T! You look too elegant, I'll fetch you something different" she told me, and so I ended up with this crazy looking thing. Soon after and Lafayette strides through the door, Eric leaving to go and sit above the rest of the club while I get up and receive a bone crunching hug from my treasured friend. And just like that, things all feel normal again.

"Hooker you is looking fine! It's good to see you back to your old self" he tells me, sitting down and sipping his brandy and coke.

"I feel good to look like my old self again, and feel it" I reply.

"But you look different somehow. Something about you...I don't know" he begins while eyeing me sharply. He's spotted the change since he last saw me five days ago.

"Let's just say the man I love most and the man I hate most both got fucked today, and also have something in common now other than me. Neither of them is breathing right now" I tell him with a wink, watching him nod in understanding.

"If a brother goin' to drink to anything, he goin' to drink to that" he replies with a wink, picking up his glass as clinking it against mine with a big smile on his face. That's the last time Brendan is mentioned anywhere, or by anyone. He's just gone without a trace.

**Authors note - Once again, thank you so, so much for the reads and reviews! Just a little favour, I'd love to know just how many people are reading this, it seems to be lots! Could all those who do not usually review leave me just a little one please? I really would love to know exactly how big my seemingly HUGE audience is! Thank you in advance :) and remember, it takes less time to leave a writer a review than it does to read a chapter of their work ;) xxx**


	55. Chapter 55

Eric's POV.

Nothing brings me greater peace than this, lying here with my beautiful woman feeling her gentle energy humming against me as she sleeps. I'm not surprised either, she and Cobie worked for fifteen hours straight up in the office yesterday. I'm still reluctant to let her be anywhere without me in the immediate vicinity, and to be honest she hasn't complained about that. I think she's still nervous about being on her own, that is one thing that will take the most time for her to feel confident about again. That does sadden me, seeing how such a fiercely independent woman now does not like going out alone. She used to love spending her free afternoons hunting around for old books and the like, visiting her friends and doing her own thing. Cobie took her out yesterday (Saturday) and when he got back he told me she didn't let go of his hand the entire time. He even had the nail marks to show me just how tightly she'd held on.

"She's not going to feel comfortable until Edgington and that pack of V gorged Were's who do his bidding are out of the way forever Eric, that's what I think at least" he confided in me when he brought her back. When Pam took her to the night market down in Shreveport last Sunday she also commented at how jumpy Tyra was, and how she wouldn't let Pam out of her sight. We've managed to help her overcome what Brendan did to her, but the fear of being snatched again by Russell is still at the forefront of her mind I see. Fabien, faithful and helpful to the end has been travelling to Jackson and back to check the area surrounding the mansion since we took Tyra back, and says it's still chaos up there. According to Beth another witch could easily release the demons if she knows the correct spell to use, but I don't suppose any of them are letting Russell go anywhere near a source of communication to summon that kind of help. They can't have if after fourteen days they are all still there wreaking havoc upon the mansion.

As for the AVL, they're still on lockdown. No one has heard anything of them for the past two weeks, absolutely no one. I'm not sure if this worries or pleases me. On the one hand, if they remain quiet then this is good, it means they're still out of the way, but on the other hand it could also mean they're plotting against us right now too. Then again, I have enough evidence against them to stop them in their tracks should they try anything else. There really is nothing else that they can try. They put their best effort into practice a month ago, and they were so convinced it would work, that Tyra and I would be separated forever that I cannot think of anything else they could try. This brings me back to the idea that the longer we don't hear anything of them, the harder and harder they are plotting to bring about my downfall, capture Tyra again for their own financial gain, and get me out of the way forever. It exhausts my senses having it on my mind constantly, so for now I push it back and out of the way and concentrate on something a little more pressing. The fact she turns twenty nine years old tomorrow, and I want her to enjoy her day without all of this hanging over her.

"How long have you been sitting at that computer for?" I ask her as I enter the office.

"Only a couple of hours" she replies, not looking away from the screen as her fingers tap the keys furiously. She then feels the weight of my stare upon her and looks up. She admits the truth when she sees quite clearly I don't believe her.

"Okay, seven hours. I got up at 2pm this afternoon and had nothing better to do. This casino account Cobie landed is much bigger than I expected it to be, a lot more work that I originally anticipated" she tells me, running her hand through her hair and looking back at the screen with a frown.

"Seven hours on your day off is enough, computer off, now" I instruct her.

"Don't order me around!" she replies in mock offense.

"I will order you around, switch it off and come and spend some time with me. I do not like coming second best to a machine" I reply, giving her a stern look and a smile.

"Give me ten minutes, just so I can finish this particular day of takings. It won't take long" she replies, while I grumble at her under my breath.

"She always has to get her own way" I comment nonchalantly before kissing her atop her head and leaving her to it. Ten minutes later and little miss workaholic comes back through the apartment door to join me on the couch.

"So now you have me, what do you plan on doing with me?" she asks.

"Well, we have two and a half more hours until you turn twenty nine. So how about we see your birthday in with a bang? Literally" I ask her. Her reply is getting naked in the most impressive time I've ever witnessed a human undress.

Tyra's POV.

Wow, this is a first for me I think. I don't ever think I've had a birthday come at the exact same time I do. I went from twenty eight to twenty nine while having a very intense orgasm. That was half an hour ago, and I'm still yet to even so much as look Eric in the eye. I haven't seen his face at all for the last two hours. Ladies, if you have one of those 'things to do before I die' lists you must go and add 'have a vampire go down on me' to it. You just wouldn't believe how good they are at it unless you've experienced it first hand, or first tongue should that be? Either way I'm almost numb by the time he's finished, which is useful since he then fucks me all around the bed until 3am.

"It looks like you were trying to paint a picture" I tell Eric, still on top of him as I point at my blood stained body. I'm covered in bloody fingerprints and finger trails. It can get a little messy at times, sex with a vampire.

"Maybe I was, maybe I was aiming for an abstract. Take that Monet, my best work is on a far superior canvas to anything you ever did" he replies, before sitting up and gently biting my nipple, sucking it hard then letting it go to press his lips to mine. His Claude Monet joke makes me laugh a little as I kiss him, and then we fall back to the bed wrapped around each other before deciding we really should go and take a bath to wash off. Before we do though he takes a picture of his blood on skin creation, and I decide it's probably a good idea to change the bed linen.

"Twenty nine years old. The very last age I reached as a human" Eric tells me fifteen minutes later as I lie back against his chest in the steaming hot water. I hardly bathe or shower alone these days, and I like it this way.

"And forevermore you'll look it too. It's a shame I won't though" I reply, stroking his arm that's around me.

"There is one way you would" he tells me. Of course, there's 'that'.

"Is that something you want? Where you ultimately see our relationship going?" I ask him, feeling his fingers stroking the curve of my breast.

"I cannot deny I would of course prefer it than having to watch you die. It's your decision though, I cannot force you one way or another" he replies honestly. Forever with Eric, the thought sounds heavenly. It's just the vampire part I'm unsure of. Would I have the mental stamina to endure the centuries I have ahead of me should I be turned? This is something I voice to Eric.

"You definitely have the temperament for it, and yes I do think you have the mental strength but as I said, it's there for you to consider. It isn't something that has to be immediate, we have years yet before it becomes something you need decide to do or not" he replies.

"That's good enough for me" I tell him, turning onto my side and resting my head a little further up his chest. I love how huge he is, how his muscular body makes for such a comfortable resting place. Much like it does hours later when we go to bed just before 6.30am. We both fall asleep immediately, but after a while I find I'm awoken from that lovely peaceful sleep by someone touching my shoulder.

"Tyra, wake up Tyra, come on" I hear a very familiar voice telling me as I feel the lightest of touches, something that feels more like a tingling breeze brushing my bare arm. I open my eyes and turn over to see the transparent form of Godric standing there at the side of the bed.

"What are you doing here?" I ask him, baffled and half asleep still.

"Get out of bed, hurry up. I'll tell you soon, come on" He says, taking my arm and tugging it.

"Wait, wait, I have to get dressed, a little privacy please?" I ask him.

"Of course, sorry" he replies, turning around immediately while I hop out of bed and dress in the items of clothing I can find quickest, Eric's jeans (which I have to turn up twice since they're so long on my legs) and my bra.

"Well that's dressed of sorts I suppose" he then says after turning around again.

"You're dead, you have no place to grumble over my attire" I reply, watching him laugh gently.

"This is true I suppose. Come on, there's somewhere I'd like to take you" he replies, reaching for my hand before leading me to the apartment door. Before it's even opened though my eyes are near blinded by a brilliant white light. I close them instinctively to protect them, and when they open again I'm no longer in Eric's apartment. Godric and I are standing in a huge meadow out in the brilliant sunshine, grass blowing gently as the wind breezes over it.

"Okay, so why am I here?" I ask him as we begin to walk along. As we do, I feel him take my hand in his again.

"Firstly to tell you how proud I am of you still, the strength you held onto so tightly that got you through your ordeal with Russell. You were so courageous. My only regret about it all is that I was already dead and could not come back to offer assistance, which would have been to drag Russell into the dawn with me" he says, his voice bitter for a few moments as he speaks of the Mississippi king.

"I wish you could have done that too. But don't worry, Eric has enough evidence against him and the AVL to nail them all in one foul swoop" I reply as we continue to walk, watching butterflies hover over the wild flowers that grow alongside the long grass.

"I do worry though, because you seem to have forgotten something important I told you a few months ago. That something being the fact you will be the one who ends Russell Edgington, not Eric. It's written in the stars, your destiny if you will, to end him forever" he informs me, reminding me of just what he said when he appeared to me in the bathroom a few months ago. It feels like years have passed since then.

"Yeah Godric, and that'll be really easy considering he knows exactly what I am and what he can sell my blood and offspring for! Of course, he's going to just let me stroll into the mansion and off him isn't he? If I even as much as step a toe into Mississippi he'll know, and he'll capture me again" I reply, with heavy sarcasm. The kind I wouldn't dare use if Godric was still alive, no matter how close we are (were?).

"Tell me something Tyra, if you were going to kill him and you were not what you are and did not have the whole recapturing issue to worry about; what would be your chosen plan of attack? When do you consider is the best time to go after a vampire?" he asks me, totally unfazed by my semi outburst at him.

"Erm, in the daytime I suppose. That would make the most sense" I reply after thinking on it for a few moments.

"Correct!" he replies enthusiastically. "You can sneak up on him while he's totally unaware, totally unprepared because he just wouldn't expect it would he?" he then adds.

"Sneak up on him? With all the Were's he has all hopped up on his blood guarding the grounds? Not even my powers could kill that many wolves. They'd ambush me and drag me into the mansion and back to that basement faster than you could say 'Godric I was right, it didn't work'. Honestly" I reply in a disgruntled tone, shaking my head.

"Do you know how big the Louisiana pack is? It consists of twenty five werewolves. Russell's mansion is guarded by no more than about ten or twenty at any given time. There, you have your army. You have no choice but to tell the rest of the pack of your identity, they will be loyal to you, they are your wolves. There is no question of them not being so, regardless of what Eric might think. You know us vampires are not overly keen on your disciples" he replies, making it all sound so easy.

"Okay so that gets us into the mansion, please prey tell just how a twenty nine year old mortal takes out a three thousand year old vampire all on her own? Since it's me and only me who has to do it?" I then ask. At this point he stops, releases his grip on my hand and holds my face in both of his hands before kissing my forehead.

"A carefully shot silver headed arrow is all it will take. The archer will succeed" he replies, before suddenly that blinding light appears again. When I open my eyes once more, I find I'm still naked and lying in bed next to a sleeping Eric. 'The archer will succeed', I have that going around and around in my head right now like a mantra. I'm intelligent enough to work out that the archer is of course me. Everything he said to me makes sense. If I go in there with a pack of wolves so big it just about outnumbers his then I have enough protection around me to get into the mansion, scare the shit out of any staff who might be there and tear a clear path to Russell's resting place (something I can ask Esmeralda of the exact location to be even quicker) and put a shiny silver tipped arrow through his heart. It's useless though, like Eric will actually let me even so much as suggest it to him. He'll just shout 'you're not setting one foot out of this city without me there, let alone travel to Jackson without me' or something along those lines.

After being awoken by such a profound dream I just cannot fall back to sleep again, so decide to get up and dress and then take both my cell and Eric's upstairs into the club with me. Sitting down I place them both on the table in front of me and just look down at them for a while, formulating a plan up in my head. I spend another hour staring at the table in front of me before I pick up Eric's cell and copy the cell number of Nan Flanagan into mine. I wonder, are she and the AVL only refusing calls from Eric exclusively? Time will tell on that one. My second action is to then take my own phone and call Peter, asking him to meet me at the club as soon as he can. Faithful as ever, he assures me he will be here in an hour and use his morning break time to come and talk to me.

My next action is to go down into the office (after helping myself to a large glass of sparking ice water from behind the bar) and boot up the computer, ready to scan through the documents for the file Eric showed me. Said file contains all the details of the agreement between Russell and the AVL for my blood to be traded for his house arrest. Once I have located it I print off a copy of everything there, closing everything down again when I'm done. I fold the papers up and tuck them into my jeans pocket before then calling up a local directory index online and searching for all the nearest stockist and machinist of sheet metals. After ten minutes of searching, I find a company by the name of Collins-Rochester who specialise in sheet metal cutting to any size or dimension, and also sell sheet metal too. Since I have no idea how much I'll need I grab a piece of paper and do a quick sketch of a large arrow head exactly the size I need it also including dimensions of thickness, and then scan the document over to the computer and attach it to a blank email while I dial a number into my cell.

"Good morning, Collins-Rochester metals how can I help you?" a polite man says upon answering.

"Good morning and I hope you can help me. I have a sketch for an item I'd like making bespoke for me, silver arrow heads. If I send you over a sketch on an email would you be able to give me a quote?" I ask him.

"Sure darlin' I'm right in front of the computer now so you fire it over and I'll take a little look. Send it to my email address, Gordon at Collins hyphen Rochester at hotmail dot com" he says, spelling out the email address my speedy fingers have tapped into the address bar before clicking send.

"Okay Miss Boden I'll print this out and take it down to the workshop to get you a quote. Solid or sterling silver?" he asks me after receiving and looking over my email. Both silvers will do the job just fine, so I pick sterling considering it's likely to be the cheaper option. Just as long as it isn't plated silver then it will work fine.

"Sterling please" I reply.

"Okay if you can just give me a contact number to call you on unless you want me to email your quote?" he then asks me. I give him my cell and we end the call there. I hear back from him just fifteen minutes later, him telling me the arrow heads will cost $85.00 each. I order six (just in case of any other vampires I may have to kill while I'm there) and shudder at the final order total as I read him off my credit card details (which I have memorized) and agree to go and pick them up first thing. I'm paying them an extra $200 to have the job done within twenty four hours. Once that's all sorted I switch everything off and head out, using the bathroom en route and then going back downstairs to quickly make myself look a little more presentable by washing my face and brushing my teeth and hair before creeping out again and going up to the club to wait for Peter to arrive.

As I wait, I wonder if I should tell Eric of my rapidly forming plan, or leave him in the dark over it. Either way, he's going to be mad as hell at me. I know I don't have a lot of time to decide either, since this is a plan I need to execute within the next forty eight to seventy two hours. The only thing I'll be waiting on is if a certain hag of a vampire decides to answer her phone or not. If she doesn't, there is another way around that particular obstacle I need to speak to her over though. I hear a knock at the door and put aside all those thoughts until later, until I have the darkness I'll need on my side.

"Peter, come in" I say after nodding to his bowed head.

"Good morning my queen" he addresses me politely. "So, why have I been summoned?" he then asks me as we take a seat.

"Because I need to go and kill a vampire, and I need my wolves to protect me while I'm doing that. You need to inform the whole pack we're going to war against Russell Edgington" I reply simply, watching him stroking his beard and nodding slowly.

"You've certainly come to the right place for that, your majesty" he chuckles in reply, looking thrilled at the prospect.

"I knew I could count on you" I tell him with a smile. With that, my plan swings into action. I'm coming for you Russell, and nothing but nothing will stand in my way.

**Authors note - A very big thank you to all of you who've reviewed this, from the regulars to the newbies it was lovely to see just how many people are enjoying this. I'm in the stages of writing the final chapters right now and I must admit I am very sad to see this project come to an end. But...I might sequel it! xxx**


	56. Chapter 56

Tyra's POV.

"Pam, it's so beautiful. I really didn't expect anything from you so it's an extra lovely surprise" I tell my friend as I sit in her apartment with her after opening my birthday gift. I then get up and strip to my underwear to try it on. She's made me the most gorgeous dress. Iron grey and dead tight, to the knee but cut carefully at the chest to reveal maximum cleavage.

"Well Eric and I have never celebrated our birthdays since we're technically dead, so it was nice to give a gift to a special someone again" he tells me as she zips me up.

"Wow, it fits like a glove" I tell her, looking at my appearance in her full length mirror.

"It should do, there's decades of seamstress craft behind the creation of this dress. I've had more years to perfect the cutting and stitching of cloth than most named designers" she replies, something I can heavily agree with. All the clothes she makes are amazingly detailed and perfectly stitched. This one has lots of brushed gold and silver studs, rhinestones and other bead work all hand sewn around the top half of it. I thank Pam again before I carefully slip out of it and back into my clothes, and then go back to Eric's apartment. She heard me walking around and came in to say happy birthday to me before he awoke, and when I get back I find he's still out cold, literally. Or so I think.

"Ahh, she returns. I suppose this means you can have your present now" he tells me after his face emerges from the pillow. I sit down on the bed next to him while he reaches out and retrieves a small black box from the draw and then handing it to me. "Happy birthday my darling" he then tells me, sitting up a little more to give me a very, very big birthday kiss. A kiss so good I almost forget I have a gift in my hand to open. We come up for air eventually and I look down and open the box. Inside is a bronze cuff bracelet, with round topaz stones set in it all the way around, and fine engravings on the bronze itself.

"It's gorgeous, and heavy! Wow, I've never seen anything like it before' I reply, giving him another kiss after clipping it around my wrist. It opens and shuts on a simple spring hinge.

"You wouldn't have. It belonged to my mother" he replies, making my eyes widen.

"And you're giving it to me?" I ask, feeling very honoured to receive such a present.

"I think she'd want you to have it" he replies, walking two fingers up my arm and then stroking the back of my hand.

"I feel very privileged that you want me to have it. It must mean a lot to you since you've kept it all this time" I tell him, looking down at my wrist and turning the beautiful cuff around to look at the different natural patters in the topaz stones. No two are the same when you examine them closely, making it very unique looking. It's beautiful, and now I know it used to belong to my great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great aunt it makes it even more precious to me. I've had a wonderful birthday already, even though I'm only running on four hours of sleep. I had two hours before my dream this morning, and then after doing all I had to do and before going out for lunch with my family and friends I managed to squeeze in another two. Right now I feel like I could easily go in for another hour of sleep, and feel glad when Eric informs me we're in no rush since he isn't taking me out until later. It's my birthday and I'll nap if I want to.

I wake up again an hour and a half later and go straight to the bathroom to splash cold water on my face, clean my teeth and retouch my makeup. While I do I reflect upon the nice day I've had. Lunch was wonderful, and I'm glad my mother and I were speaking in time for it too. Cobie and Lance came to collect me since they were invited too (Peter couldn't make it because of work, he could only just make time to meet me in the morning) and as well as them and my parents, my aunt Helen and uncle Ken, Lafayette, Jesus, Anna and Myra (Dmitri was another who couldn't get out of work), Sookie and Esmeralda were present too. We all had a wonderful time, and the five glasses of white wine I had haven't quite worn off with the sleep either. So I'm all happy and smiley because of it, and have fun getting into my shoes once I'm redressed, deciding it might be safer to wear a pair with a slightly lower heel. I have changed into the dress Pam brought me and a pair of pointed toe high heels, but not so high I fall over in them. A four inch heel will suffice rather than my sky scraping six inch Louboutin's I originally wanted to wear.

Deciding since it's pretty chilly out I need to protect my legs I go to my draw (Eric had plenty of free space for me to move a hell of a lot of clothes here) and pull out a pair of sheer stockings and a garter belt, finding a grey one to match my underwear and dress (I have to match all over) and clip them on, putting my shoes back on and checking my appearance again. I then grab my purse and my chinchilla shawl and head out. Fuck you PETA; I like red meat and real fur. You won't make me feel guilty for that either.

"You look stunning" a suited and booted Eric tells me. He's in a dark brown suit with a black shirt and boots. He looks as delicious as always.

"Compliment returned" I tell him, walking over and reaching up to kiss him. Tonight he's taking me to Light and Dark, the gallery that remains open twenty four hours a day to cater to both human and vampire clientele. Of course as you know I do the bookkeeping for that particular establishment too. We're going to view an exhibit by dark artist Chet Zar, who's often macabre and disturbing work we both enjoy greatly. We travel in Eric's new toy that was delivered yesterday. He decided to upgrade the Jaguar to a Maserati Spyder, again in black but about twice as fast as his previous car. He's a big show off with what he drives, that's about the only thing outwardly decadent about him. He doesn't show his wealth in a brash or non classy way, and I like that. I like how he can be understated. This car is far from it though.

We arrive at the gallery and he hands the keys to the valet after we've got out, and head inside to a room much more full than I expected. I should have mentioned earlier the exhibit is not solely dedicated to Zar's art, but a collective of many darker artists that are being displayed throughout to gallery. His is the first space we come to though, filled with his wonderfully macabre canvases and prints.

After viewing the space containing the Zar work we move on to the next, by a local artist called Hannah Wells, who happens to be present of course. She's a young vampire you can tell by how human she is towards people in her mannerisms, still shaking hands freely and smiling widely, her face still very expressive and more human than vampire in that respect. She's as white as a sheet of paper though, and that fools no one. Her work is very edgy, very darkly erotic in theme, and certainly seems to have an effect on Eric, who's currently standing behind me, reaching around to stroke my legs.

"It only takes the slightest sexual suggestion for you to get yourself all excited doesn't it?" I tell him as we look up at the painting of the nude woman in front of us.

"Only because I looked at it and then imagined you naked and what I want to do to you when you are" he tells me close to my ear, before nipping the lobe with his teeth. That gives me a lovely pleasant shudder that I close my eyes to enjoy, leaning back against him while he kisses the side of my neck. We quell the slightly public display of affection before moving on to the next painting. Except now he's passed on his mood straight to me and standing right in front of him again as we look at the next piece I reach behind me and start rubbing his cock through his pants.

"Stop it, not when there's nowhere continently private I can take you close by" he tells me, yet not really sounding like he wants me to stop. It's then that I get an idea. Taking his hand I lead him out of the space and out of the room, down the hallway to a doorway that leads to the fire escape. The door isn't alarmed fortunately. I lead him through it and then jam the nozzle of the nearby fire extinguisher between the door and the frame to keep it open. I then walk across the iron fire escape to the dark corner just down the first flight of stairs Eric has moved to.

"Just you try and tell me to stop it now" I tell him huskily before kissing him and grabbing his cock, giving it a firm squeeze before unzipping his pants and pulling it out, and then crouching to take it into my mouth. He groans at the sensation of my mouth sucking the head while my hand grips his shaft, working him hard very quickly. When I want him, I want him. Location no longer bothers me. Not getting him inside me when I need him there is more of a worry.

Eric's POV.

There is something quite significant I feel I should point out about this. If this situation had presented itself before we were bonded, there would have been no question about remaining composed enough to return to the private confines of either my home or hers. But since the bond, this is how it's been. Waiting just isn't a question any longer. When we bonded I felt emotions of gentleness and pleasure that long appeared dead revive with me, this much is true. Yet the lust for her that runs through me like an electrical charge that crackles fiercely is the change most potent. Clasping her either side of the waist I lift her up and place her on top of the iron rails to the side of the fire escape, my hands running up her sheer stocking covered legs and over her garter belt while I bite the side of her neck and feed from her. My fingers then find their way into her underwear and inside her while I continue to drink, and listen to her moan.

Sealing the wound in her neck I begin kissing her again, groaning as she sucks my tongue and putting my arm around her waist to keep her steady against the rail as my fingers fuck her harder, making her gasp and moan loudly. I move my hand to pull the front of her dress down and then bend my head to bite her breast and suck her nipple, my hand returning between her legs to rub her clit vigorously. I'm impatient to be inside her so I make that my next move, mouth returning to hers as my hands slide around to grip her ass at the same time my erection is completely encased in wet warmth. I then proceed to fuck her against the ironwork hard and fast, our mutual moans becoming louder by the moment.

Caught somewhere between the urgency for this to be done quickly and the urgency to do each other quickly our sexually charged bodies race to orgasm within a few minutes, the banging of Tyra's ass against the iron work causing a loud clanging noise over and over that's muted only by the sound of her groaning as she reaches climax.

"I think I could do with a visit to the restroom to tidy myself a little, I'll see you back out there in a few minutes" she tells me as we enter the building again. I watch her walk away down the hall, and feel a shiver of arousal not quite completely sated run through me as I watch her walk. The way she moves will never fail to excite me. I could have sex with her for days on end and I'd still want more at the end of it. The woman is addictive.

"All finished, and oh my word what a beautiful piece" she tells me when she returns, sliding an arm around me and resting her head against my shoulder as she looks at the sculpture in front of us. It's of a naked woman lying on a bed with her legs spread, showing just about everything. Oh dear, I'm aroused again.

"Can we move on to the next space of exhibits? I'm finding it difficult to function surrounded by so much erotica" I tell Tyra quietly, which makes her laugh.

"Sure, come on tripod follow me" she jokes, amusing me a little. That's one way to describe it I suppose, the fact I've just had to rearrange myself and literally belt my erection to my body to prevent it tenting my pants. Needless to say I'm not comfortable at all until it's gone down again, and then I can carry on viewing the art in front of me without my mind drifting to visions of a naked Tyra. While she's looking at a print of HR Geiger that's being displayed here I head back to the space that caused me such trouble, and over to the artist responsible to enquire how much she wants for the sculpture.

"Well I didn't plan on selling that particular piece, so I cannot really give a figure off the top of my head" the baby vampire (and such a baby, she's eighteen years old if a day and has been turned only recently too I can guess) replies politely.

"In that case, how about if I type a figure into my cell that I think it's worth, and then show you?" I ask her.

"Erm, yeah okay" she says, looking a little nervous. So I type in the price I am prepared to pay and then turn my cell screen to face her. Her eyeballs nearly fall out of her head when she sees the number of zero's I've added to the figure.

"Sold" she replies after composing herself, taking the sheet of stickers from her pocket and putting a red one on the base of the sculpture to indicate its sale, before I pay her and give her the address of Fangtasia for it to be delivered to. There's birthday gift number two for my beautiful lady all sorted. I had no idea what else I wanted to give her, so thought by taking her here I might find something she'd like and be able to purchase. When I take her back to show her the statue now belongs to her she's thrilled too, which means that's $2,000 well spent. Money is absolutely no object where she is concerned. If it had cost $20,000 I'd have still happily paid it. We stay at the gallery for another hour, socializing with her boss for a time before we leave and head back to the club. I tell her to choose whatever she wants from behind the bar and to join me downstairs once she's done. That takes twenty minutes, and by the time she comes back I can smell the reason why she's been gone too long before she's even entered the apartment.

"Get yourself to your toothbrush. The smell of alcohol I can stand because as you know it's the only thing I miss being able to imbibe, but the smell of those god awful bubblegum shots nauseate me" I tell her as she puts down the bottle of white wine and glass she's holding.

"Ginger made me do shots at the bar, and she was buying so I thought it rude to refuse" she replies, with a little wobble before going to brush her teeth. She comes back a few minutes later to find I've already opened the wine and poured her a glass, thanking me with a kiss before sitting down next to me.

"It's wonderful you know, to see you looking like your old self. I knew you'd return to form quickly" I tell her, smiling proudly at her.

"Thank you for having that faith in me that I would" she replies after sipping her wine.

"But I sense your nerves right now; I feel you're nervous over something. What is troubling you?" I then ask her. It's a question that's bothered me since I woke up earlier. I've been able to pick up on a tiny hint of nerves she's holding within.

"I'm fine, just a little tense about my workload for the next week is all" she replies. I'm not fooled.

"Sorry, I don't buy that for a second. The real reason if you please?" I tell her. She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, looking at me with caution.

"I have a meeting tomorrow night. With Nan Flanagan. To call her in private was part of the reason I went to the restroom in the gallery earlier" she begins, making me wonder firstly how she managed to make contact with her, and secondly why?

"Why are you conversing with her? And how did you manage to contact her? I told you I would deal with Russell and the AVL, I want you as far away from all this as possible" I reply warningly.

"Because it's just you who she and the AVL are not accepting communication from firstly, and second, I'm meeting her to call in a favour. I have this all worked out Eric, and I have her in the palm of my hand. She doesn't know anything yet about the evidence you gained against her, at least not the extent of it. She's shitting her pants Eric, she knows you have something on the AVL and if she wasn't dead already, she'd be dying to find out. I haven't put all my cards on the table, and I won't when I'm face to face with her. I know what I'm doing" she replies efficiently. But not matter how efficient and also confident in herself she sounds, she isn't going. I tell her as much immediately.

"You can't tell me what to do Eric. They kidnapped me, so it's me who's going to back them into a corner and use them to my own advantage. I have to, it's down to me isn't it?" she replies hotly.

"No it is not down to you! You're not going anywhere near Russell Edgington, Nan Flanagan or anyone for the AVL. I forbid it Tyra, I'm not losing you again" I reply, just as fiercely.

"You're forgetting what a certain dead Roman vampire had to say on the matter. He specifically stated I'm the one to end Russell didn't he?" she then reminds me. Of course she is referring to my disappearing reappearing maker who still occasionally visits in his spirit form.

"I don't care, he's dead and gone and I'm dead and here, so I say how things go. You're not going" I reply firmly.

"Again, you can't stop me Eric. This is something I want to and have to do. Come with me and wait outside, but she's only coming because I promised her I'd meet her alone, and she stated that she'd do the same. Just me and her, and a bar full of Were's that she won't realize are even there until I point them out to her. Like I say, I have this covered" she replies, much calmer in tone while I only feel angrier.

"She'll smell them a mile away" I tell her, frowning heavily.

"Peter confided a way that can be overcome to me, one that I trust him when he says will work flawlessly. I will not betray their secrets by revealing that either. Eric, you need to trust me. You always state you see me as your equal; you need to treat me as much. I have this covered, and as soon as I've met with Nan tomorrow I'll tell you everything I have planned. Please, please trust me" she tells me, getting up and walking over to where I've moved myself to, by the fire. I must admit I am suddenly very curious over that secret, but I know I have to respect the fact she will not reveal it. She brings me out of my thoughts as she strokes my cheek and makes me turn my head to look at her.

"Trust me. This is me Eric, _me_. You know I can do it; I'm strong enough and skilled enough to do this. I'm your blood; you know I could never be anything less. I need to do this" she tells me, while I nod and digest her words thoroughly.

"I trust you as far as to go and meet Nan tomorrow. But I'll be waiting outside. Everything else you have planned I cannot give you a simple go ahead on until I've heard it. All I shall say is whatever it is, it better not be anything less than flawless or I simply will not allow it. I won't even listen to you like I just have, I'll just say no and it'll be my final answer" I reply after heavy consideration. She's right I do see her as my equal, and I must practice what I preach and treat her as such. Although of course, I do not look forward to this at all, for what Nan Flanagan is more than likely plotting to unleash upon her arrival.

"Thank you" she replies, resting her head against my chest and wrapping her arms around me.

"Where is this bar you said you'd meet her at? I applaud you for choosing a public place by the way, and having the sense to fill it with your wolves who you assure me will not be 'sniffed out' as it were" I reply.

"It's Jackson's bar three blocks from here. You're dying to know what it is they can do to block their scent aren't you?" she then suddenly asks me.

"I might be" I reply casually.

"Lies, it's going to eat away at you" she replies with a big smile.

"Thank you, thank you for taking such delight in my unquenchable curiosity" I say sarcastically.

"You're welcome" she replies, before kissing my cheek. With that I smile again and temporarily let myself forget about the way Tyra has involved herself in all of this when I didn't want her to. Even though her involvement in this does not sit well with me, I must trust her. I must respect her as the intelligent woman she is, and I must ensure she enjoys the rest of her birthday too so I leave the conversation where it is and concentrate solely on her instead. Even if I can't get it off my mind, I keep my mouth shut at least. She deserves that much.

**Authors note - Sorry this is a day late ladies, I'm terribly busy at the moment! Thanking each and every one of you for your reads and reviews as always. You're a wonderful audience :) xxx**


	57. Chapter 57

Tyra's POV

So, I suppose you are all sitting there in suspense for me to reveal the werewolves secret. Don't deny it; I know you're dying to know. You won't believe it though, because Peter had to spend a good ten minutes ensuring to me that he wasn't joking. I just didn't believe him when he told me what it is that werewolves eat to block out their scent from vampires...

You'll just never guess...

Just remember, I'm not joking...

Garlic, yes really! If they eat garlic the smell of it when they begin to sweat it out is particularly strong to vampires, perhaps something to do with the higher body temperature werewolves have, but they aren't totally sure apparently why garlic specifically masks their scent. Peter told me it was discovered a few hundred years ago by French and Italian Were's who, yes you guessed it, have a lot of garlic in their diets. I couldn't even hint as to what it was to Eric, it's a massively guarded secret. I laughed at first, what a fucking cliché I thought. Vampires being repelled or weakened by garlic as the old stories always say. Turns out it's where the 'story' originated from, it just got twisted slightly through the chords of time and lost any association from the werewolves that the secret kept undetected from vampire nostrils. You live, you learn.

Even though Peter convinced me of it thoroughly when we met, I still want proof of the pudding. Enter my guinea pig, Mr Cobie Smith. The Were who chewed down a couple of cloves of garlic an hour ago. I hide in the corner with Peter and Lance while we watch Cobie walk over to a vampire customer and try his luck.

"Urgh, fuck off you smelly human. Jesus! What do you live on, garlic bread alone?" she exclaims loudly, holding her nose as she walks away. She called him a human, she had absolutely no idea he was a werewolf. I laugh so hard from my hiding spot that I almost pee myself; especially at the look on Cobie's face.

"Damnit Madge! She was a total hottie for a vamp, and now in her mind I'm just the dude who reeks of garlic" he fumes as we walk out of the club.

"If she knew you were a Were she still probably wouldn't fuck you though" I point out.

"Hmph" is all he replies. That little exchange was just the thing I needed to break the tension, which leads me up until now, about to leave the parking lot with Cobie, Lance and Peter. Eric is already outside the bar, lurking in the darkness. He just text me to say Nan Flanagan isn't there yet. We thought she might arrive early, or at least plant someone else there early to scope the meeting point out. But according to Eric the area is totally clean.

"Wait, I gotta change first, gimmie a sec" Cobie says, beginning to walk around to the side of the club.

"Son, how exactly do you expect Tyra to manage to casually walk into a bar with 180lbs of wolf with her? And why do you feel the need to change more importantly?" Peter asks him in an exasperated tone. Out of him, myself and Lance, I have the most patience for Cobie. I understand the methods to his madness.

"Okay, so because of who you are you're the only living soul I'd ever let do this" he begins, before rummaging in the pocket of his heavy black wool coat and pulling out a thick choke chain with a matching chain link leash attached. "Ol' Bud Johnson lets folks with dogs in there all the time, it'll be cool. Oh and I'm changing so it's quicker for me to rip Nan Flanagan's throat out if she tries to do anything to our queen. Or at least try to, I know I'm a strong wolf but the bitch is still a six hundred year old bloodsucker" he then adds swiftly, smiling and raising his eyebrows to the silence that falls over us, before putting the choke chain around his neck and handing me the leash.

"I'll allow you to change and be my guard wolf, but you won't forsake yourself for me. Nan won't think twice about killing you" I reply while he nods. Then before I know it his coat and shirt are off, down go his pants and there stands a huge grey and white wolf at the end of the leash. I gather his clothes up and quickly go in and throw them at Sheila (the vampire sat in the booth who you pay when you come in) who catches them neatly with a bemused look, and then hot foot it back outside again. I grab the end of the leash wolf Cobie is attached to and off we walk. I lose myself in my thoughts, reminding myself over and over I have Nan Flanagan exactly where I want her, she cannot wheedle her way out of this. I have to do this because I'm actually feeling a little bit nervous. Or is that just excitement that finally, the end is in sight with all of this? We arrive outside Johnson's bar before I can think on it any further, and stride in ahead of the others, drawing some very strange looks from some of the non Were (there's about twenty of them here from the Louisiana pack I just had to nod to discreetly) customers when they look at Cobie.

"Holy mother of Jesus! Is that a pet wolf you've got there little lady?" asks an old man I presume to be Bud Johnson as he rushes over to where I'm standing on the other side of the bar.

"No don't be silly! He's a half wolf half husky mix" I reply cheerfully, thinking it might be better to feed him a bit of a lie in case his next line of speech is 'sorry, no wolves'. Those words earn me a growl from Cobie of course.

"He's absolutely beautiful! Hey boy, hey!" Bud says, leaning over the bar and looking down at Cobie, who plays up to his role and stands there looking pretty and wagging his tail vigorously, giving Bud a little yap of greeting.

"Thank you. Could I have a glass of mineral water please? No ice, it's cold enough outside" I then say to him, and he nods before fetching it.

"Sorry I had to refer to you as half dog; you understand why I did though right?" I then whisper to Cobie. He lets out another little yap and wags his tail. I think that means 'yes'. I pay for my drink since I won't be here for long enough to warrant starting a tab, and then head over to a free table towards the back of the bar, where I can see the doorway clearly. Cobie arranges himself right by my side, lying down but with his head up, staring at the doorway on high alert. We've got twenty two minutes exactly to wait until Nan shows up, unless she happens to be early. Exactly seventeen minutes later and she strides through the door, not alone either. Her opening line makes me so furious with her hypocritical audacity that I have to stop myself form standing up and smashing my glass right in her ugly face.

"I thought we said just us Miss Boden? Why the wolf? I'd be interested to see if you have the correct licences to keep a wild animal as a pet you know" she says, sliding into a seat opposite me, her escort standing behind her while she looks at Cobie with thinly veiled disgust. He growls at her, holding her stare and sounding very, very pissed. So far, she hasn't detected him to be a werewolf specifically. Strike one to me.

"Oh right, so who's he then, your stalker?" I reply in a bitchy tone, glaring at her across the table while pointing at the vampire behind her.

"Graham, wait outside" she then says after Cobie's growling gets louder, and my frown becomes more furrowed. I turn and give Cobie a look that says 'stop the growling' and once he's quiet, but still sitting alert and staring right at Nan she speaks again.

"So, you've called me here for a reason. I don't appreciate having my time wasted so just cut to the chase" she tells me, fixing me with cold stare as she leans back in her chair. I reach into my purse and pull out the paper file I stashed the copied information I got from Eric's computer, and then slide it across the table to her.

"Bend over Nan, because you're about to get screwed, royally screwed" I tell her before she opens up the file. She sneers at me in response, before casting her eyes down and reading through each copy in front of her. When her eyes meet mine again she doesn't look quite as confident as she did before, but that vanishes in a nanosecond.

"Tell me Tyra, did you not stop to think that you're little wolf buddy down there isn't strong enough by half if I decide to take you and your incriminating little file and dispose of you both for good? I mean, what's stopping me?" she says, confident she has the upper edge.

"The twenty werewolves from the Louisiana pack at practically every single table in this bar, that's who and what will stop you. A big, mean tempered vampire you may be, but I'd love to see you and your little friend outside try your luck against them. Actually do it, I could do with a good laugh after everything you and your associates put me through" I hiss at her angrily, watching her look around herself and then back at me, with confusion written all over her face. "I'm not telling you why you couldn't sniff them out either, so don't bother asking" I then add, snatching the file away from her and returning it to my bag.

"You sneaky little bitch" she begins bitterly, shaking her head in disgust. "Of course, you learned from the best" she then says, equally as bitter in tone. She's referring to Eric of course.

"Didn't I just?" I reply sweetly through my glare. "Oh and to add to your comment about taking the file, if you honestly think that's the only copy in existence of your dirty little plot to use my blood and eventually my children as fucking currency then you are sadly mistaken" I add, watching her look on at me furiously. She's got absolutely nothing to say, she knows I have her backed into a corner. She knows her number is up.

"So when are you planning to expose us all then? Or let me guess, there's something you want in return from me to keep this information private?" she eventually asks me, her words slow and careful.

"The human guards you employ to guard the mansion gates during the day, on Thursday from 11am until 12pm, they will not be there. The fate of Russell Edgington at my own hands will be chalked up as a tragic accident; he died while under AVL lock up. I'll take a witch with me to relieve him of his little demon problem before I enter. You and the rest of the AVL will be in the pocket of both me and Eric forever too, completely at our disposal for whatever we should need from you. If all those things happen, then this information will be kept from the authorities. If they do not happen then the information goes public, the AVL will be punished severely and so heavily they'll probably crumble, and Russell Edgington will sent right to death row since the law has now changed since his incarceration, or rather phony incarceration. Choice is yours" I tell her, smiling while she looks more pissed off by the second.

"The witch won't be necessary. Someone from the mansion finally managed to make contact a few days ago and we sent a vampiric sorcerer out there to remove the demons. Now, it's my turn to demand something of you. I want a copy of the information, that file will do. Then you will destroy any other copies you have. Only then do we have a deal" she eventually replies, after looking like a pitbull chewing a wasp for a good twenty seconds.

"No, you're not getting a copy of them. You're in absolutely no position to bargain. Think about it and call me in an hour, or I take everything I have against you all and hand it over to the police. Either way I win, remember that Nan" I reply, my final words to her as I get up out of my chair and stride off with Cobie, leaving Nan sitting there clenching her fists tightly at her sides. She's fucked, and she knows she's fucked. Basically she has to say yes if she wants to hang onto her precious organisation and job within it.

"YOU WERE FUCKING AMAZING!" Cobie roars at me as soon as he's changed back to human form when we arrive back at the club, hugging me tightly. "Oh shit, sorry Eric" he then apologises as I turn to see my vampire behind me, glaring. I think it's more to do with the fact Cobie is stark naked right now rather than the hug itself. I quickly run and fetch his clothes from Sheila while he waits in the shadows.

"Eric she was incredible, she just nailed her from every angle. No matter what that fucking Flanagan bitch said to her she had a comeback for it" Cobie enthuses as he dresses quickly.

"We shall talk about this privately, in the office" Eric says to me before walking away back towards the doors. I bid my werewolves goodnight and thank them for their help before I follow him in.

"Tyra, enlighten me with exactly what was discussed between you and Nan, please" Eric asks me as he takes a seat, and I perch on the side of the desk.

"I told her we'd reveal everything unless she gave me free rein to go in and kill Russell in the daylight, when he's most vulnerable. Also, that she and the AVL are in our pockets for life. Information, favours, whatever we want from them we get. She's got an hour to answer with a yes or I take it to the police, the AVL gets trampled into the ground and Russell Edgington gets the death penalty. Since he's a convicted murderer who will be going from 'supposed' AVL incarceration to a mainstream jail, he'll either rot away up there or be put to death. Then there's the charges of what he did to me, it all adds up" I reply, watching him sit still as a statue as his gaze flickers from me to nothing, staring at a point just behind me as he looks thoughtful.

"And if she says yes, what is this daylight attack you're planning? What about the demons still swirling wild inside the mansion? You think Beth can make that many talismans to protect you all in such little time?" he asks, his eyes snapping back to mine suddenly.

"She won't need to; they've been sent back to whatever realm they came from. They're gone, and Russell is fair game. I've told Nan Flanagan I want the human guards taking off the gates between 11 and 12 in the morning, then me and the Louisiana pack will enter the grounds, they will assist me in killing anything that comes for us and we'll make our way into the mansion. Anyone who blocks my way in getting to Russell will have an arrow pointed at their heads. I've had silver arrow heads made that I have to collect in the morning. Those are what I'll use to kill Russell, and any other vampire who comes near me. Of which there are only three, his butt boys. We have this covered Eric, everything is water tight. There are more wolves in my pack than there are guarding the mansion, they'll make sure nothing happens to me" I tell him, with all the confidence I can muster. I have to make him see that this will work, that it's our best shot. Alas, my best efforts have fallen on somewhat deaf ears though.

"I've considered what you've told me thoroughly, I honestly have. But I still have to refuse it. I don't want you anywhere near him, it does not sit comfortably with me even though I genuinely can see that the plan is more or less fool proof, I just cannot extend my trust in you that far to let you go in there without me" he replies, looking at me apologetically.

"Eric, you're contradicting yourself. You're telling me you agree it's a good plan and that you've listened to me, but you still won't let me go? Do you honestly think my wolves will let me be taken again? It won't even come to that, I promise you it won't and you know deep down I can do it, you KNOW! I know you know, I can see it in your eyes. It's just fear that's holding you back, fear of losing me again. You don't have to be scared Eric because you're NOT going to lose me!" I tell him, feeling my temper begin to rise. He has to listen to me, he has to get past his own fear. If I can get past mine to march on in there and get the required job done, then he can get over his too.

"Sorry Tyra, you have my answer. No" he replies, getting up and leaving the office to return to the apartment where I follow him to.

"You can't stop me" I tell him as I enter.

"I can and I will. Even if I have to tie you up, you're not going through with this" he replies angrily, flying back until he's a few centimetres from my face, glaring down at me.

"Tie me up? TIE ME UP? Oh, so to keep me from Russell you'll lower yourself to his standards and keep me prisoner? I don't FUCKING THINK SO ERIC!" I roar at him, before tearing across the apartment and picking up my more necessary belongings along the way and then throwing them into my big purse.

"I'd be doing it to protect you not you hurt you, so don't you dare try and make it sound the same! Don't ever think you can emotionally play me like that, you can't" he snarls at me, grabbing my arm.

"Get off me!" I shout, trying to free myself from his grip.

"NO!" he shouts back. "I won't let someone I care about as much as you endanger their self like this" he adds, suddenly looking a lot angrier than before.

"Someone you care about as much as me huh? Someone you can't even bring yourself to tell you love them? Maybe I'd be more convinced of how much you care if you weren't so fucking gutless in that department" I spit coldly, instantly hating myself for what I've said to him because I don't mean it at all. But I had to say it, I had to make him let go of my arm somehow. Now, he's just standing glaring at me, but not with total anger. There's hurt behind his stare, hurt so horrible to see I cannot bear to witness it any longer. I turn and run out, grabbing my cat en route, my feet not stopping as I climb the stairs and leave the club with Pam calling after me. I ignore her, get into my car, start the engine and put my foot to the floor. I cry for the entire journey back to Bon Temps too.

I hope he can feel it, how sorry I am for what I said and how I didn't mean it. I just needed to say something shocking to him, something to make him let me go. I know he loves me, I know he does! Oh lord how I know! But he just wouldn't have let me go unless I made him angry at me enough to do so. I had to hurt him to protect him. In all of this, he's been the one there protecting me. Why shouldn't I harbour the same desires to want to protect him too? I know he's very old school and traditional in that respect, of course he sees it his job to be the protector in the relationship. But that doesn't mean I should just fold over and do as he tells me to.

He knows I'm not that kind of woman. Just as he knows the best time to attack Russell is in daylight hours too. I have more chance of killing him, should he even wake up before I do too since vampires are weaker in the daylight hours. A part of me thinks that perhaps he's being so difficult because he wants the glory of killing him, for all he has done. There's another thing he needs to remember there; what Russell most recently did to piss Eric off was to harm me, and so therefore it's me who will get revenge. No one hurts me and gets away with it, and no one, no matter how much I love them with my whole heart, will get in my way of that either. My heart jumps suddenly after sitting on the couch in silence when my phone beeps, hoping it's a message from Eric. It isn't, but it is the next best thing. Ms Flanagan.

'My answer is yes'. That's all the go ahead I needed from one particular vampire at least. With that, I call Peter and we go over our plan in meticulous detail for what will happen the day after tomorrow, spending two hours discussing things, every in and out of the plan, until we have everything but everything organised right down to the finest detail. I then decide to head off to bed after locking my doors and taking Poon with me as well as a silver knife, just to be safe. Turns out I don't sleep much anyway, so need not worry about having to fend off night time assailants in a state of half asleep. I nod off for a few minutes here and there, but my argument with Eric is playing too heavily on my mind and in my emotions. Of course, I can feel what he feels right now. Right now he isn't happy by a long shot. But he's just got to deal with that. He'll be happy enough when Russell is dead.

When 6am rolls around and I'm still no closer to sleep I decide to get up and make the most of my early start, firstly by going for a run. I've missed it, missed it so much that I spend my first waking hour charging through the forest, my body pumping with adrenaline that fuels me into being the most efficient and motivated I can be today. I then come home, shower and dress before sitting in front of my computer for three hours, and then taking a drive down to Collins-Rochester to pick up my arrowheads, and then go home to assemble them. Much more work follows this, including a visit from Cobie with this week's accounts from the casino (our biggest job) I have to start on, with him taking the box files I've already got done and loading them into his truck to go and deliver to our customers.

The casino account has proved more than enough work to warrant employing him full time now. After that I am alone for the rest of the day, going out into the forest in late afternoon and to the place I have my target, taking my long bow and some regular arrows with me. I need all the practice I can get. I call it a day when the fading light means I cannot see clearly enough, and have enough bulls eye's under my belt to feel confident enough to strike an arrow right through Russell's heart. I've only been back inside for ten or so minutes when there's a knock at the door. I know who it is before I even answer it though, I felt him getting steadily closer and closer as he travelled here. When I do open the door though Eric doesn't say a word to me, he just stands and stares before taking my face in his hands, and giving me perhaps the most passionate kiss I've ever received from him.

"That was either a kiss for luck, or a kiss goodbye. There, you can either know in your victorious defeat of him, or at the point of your own demise that I cared enough to come and give that to you, whatever the outcome you know damn well how I feel" he tells me, and I know him to be brutally serious because he addressed me in Swedish, not English. He often reverts back to our home language in times of urgency. As soon as he's spoken, he vanishes. God damnit that vampire sure can play with a person's emotions. Yes, I do deserve to feel as guilty as he intended me to feel with his words after what I said to him yesterday, but also he gave me that last little boost I needed to know that I love him so much that nothing, not even Russell Edgington, will take me from him again. That he can be sure of, because I am.

**Authors note - Ladies I am so sorry you only had one update last week! I'm so busy with my job at present that I just did not have time to upload anything, and because of that I'm behind on my writing of this story too. I'm trying to end it at 60 chapters so I just need to push the stories' ending out into two as I'm just about to start chap 59, we'll see how that goes lol! Thank you for sticking with me this whole time though, I realized the other day this story has taken me six months to write! That's the longest I've ever worked on a fic, and I shall miss it very much when it's over but also I'm really looking forward to being able to relax, hopefully in the knowledge that it was a job well done! :D xxx**


	58. Chapter 58

Eric's POV

"Pam, get everyone out and close up. Now" I order my progeny as I step back inside my club after visiting Tyra. I'm in no mood for humans, I want them gone and I want them gone now.

"Of course, but then we're going to talk" she tells me after halting my progress into the club by holding my arm. I give her a nod before she moves herself into the centre of the club and roars "WE CLOSED, GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE" loudly. Ten or so minutes later, just as the staff are all scurrying out Pam and I are sitting alone at one of the tables.

"So you two have had a fight, that much I can sense what with your present mood and the way she ran out of here earlier" Pam begins.

"Yes, over her plan to go to Mississippi and kill Russell herself" I reply, before filing Pam in on all the details, the whole plot cooked up by my lady and her wolves in its entirety, the meeting with Nan, and everything else. "Now can you see why I'm not happy with what she's doing?" I add after my long explanation. Pam sits looking thoughtful for a few moments before answering me.

"It's a damn good plan Eric, you have to give her that much. She has the one thing on her side that we don't; the daylight. But no matter how good her plan is, as your progeny of course I can feel your inner mixed feelings over it" she replies, slowly and carefully.

"On the one hand, I trust her implicitly. She's brave, she's smart and she's strong. When she puts her mind to it there's nothing she cannot achieve, and I do see that her reasoning about her wolves not letting harm come to her is very valid, they wouldn't. This doesn't stop me from being near out of my fucking mind with worry that I'll lose her again though, or that he'll kill her. I can't stop her though Pam, I can't force her not to go. I made a terrible, terrible threat towards her that I shouldn't have. I told her I'd tie her up to prevent her from going. That's when she really lost it" I reply, before the shocking sting of Pam's hand slapping me right in my cheek startles me somewhat.

"You damn well deserved that Eric, threatening her with that was cruel and insensitive of you" she snaps at me, before her face softens again. "But I'm not blind enough to see why you said it, because even though you don't voice it you love that woman more than you ever imagined you could and you want to keep her safe. To do that though, you have to let her keep herself safe. She's your best weapon against Edgington, and as you pointed out in your explanation she was right to say this is her job, regardless of any other factor. He imprisoned her, not you. As much as I'm swinging between you both in favour here I do want you to know I understand though, I know how hard it is to think you're going to lose who you love most. She saved me that fate a few months ago when you tried to end Russell by forsaking yourself. Let her do it for herself Eric, because she's doing it for you too" she tells me at length, before getting up, walking around the table and putting her arms around my neck. I rest my head against her bare stomach and actually sigh. You don't hear a creature who doesn't breathe sigh very often.

"I have let her. I'm not pleased about it by any stretch of the imagination, but I have to trust her. I have to trust the werewolves who will be with her too. It doesn't mean I have to like it though, because I don't" I tell her as anger rises within me yet again. I wish there was another way around this, but there just isn't. Tyra is right, she is the best shot we have to end Russell, her plan is brilliant, but it's just the fact she's putting herself at so much personal risk to execute it. I cannot even comprehend the thought of her not returning to me; no matter how angry I am at her and what she said to me.

"I know you don't, but what else can you do? She's her own woman, and you know whether you gave her the go ahead or not she'd still do it" Pam speaks, breaking my thought train as she lets go of me and returns to her seat. "I certainly admire her bravery" she adds with a proud smile.

"As do I, I no longer wish to discuss this though" I tell her, watching her nodding at me before I vanish off to my apartment, looking around for the cat before I realize Tyra took her when she left. Strange, how fond I've become of that little creature. Felines are very much like vampires though, they please only who they wish to please, and are independent night hunters. When it was just me and her I became quite used to the little routine we slipped into on a nightly basis, with her going to hunting for rats in the basement and bringing back her best kill to show it off to me proudly and then tear it apart on the floor. She'd leave the entrails and drop them at my feet as a gift, which is apparently something that cats do. I'd always thank her too, a gift is a gift after all. Even though I have no use for rat guts, the cat wasn't to know that.

Animals; very much like their owners in a lot of respects. I know Tyra wants me to be proud of her in what she's doing, but she must understand that I cannot sit comfortably with the thought of her putting herself that close to being taken captive again. What if Nan Flanagan betrays us? What if something is set up to imprison Tyra and slaughter all of her wolves while they are there, and then come for me and Pam and any other vampire involved in all of this afterwards? What if the wheels are now in motion to just dispose of us all in a couple of fell swoops? Or should that be foul swoops?

"In order to win a fight, sometimes all of one's trust must be placed in another" I suddenly hear a voice speak behind me.

"I wondered when you'd turn up again, with your deadly 'from beyond the true death' advice" I tell Godric as his ghostly form walks around to stand in front of where I'm sitting. He just smiles at me in his usual, unfazed way.

"My advice is not deadly though Eric. I am a spirit counsel for both you and Tyra. What I tell both of you is for the best, the only way for resolution to your problems. I would never suggest anything to endanger either you or her" he replies.

"I'd like to see if you're still so fucking smart mouthed if he does kill her" I snort, glaring at him.

"And I'd really like to know if you'd dare take that tone if I was still within this realm Eric. Watch your tone please, and while you are doing that, remember all I have ever wanted is what is best for you both. Do not forget the pains I went to in keeping Tyra safe her entire life before setting the wheels in motion for her union with you. This is best, this plan. You need to learn to trust that Eric, because I've never led you down a wrong path before, and neither has Tyra. Remember, trust is the key" he replies, before just as quickly as he came he vanishes again. Leaving me alone, with just my thoughts going around and around in my head, with no stopping, no respite. I will not have that until I see Tyra again, _if _I see Tyra again...

Tyra's POV.

"Thank you, I appreciate you getting up so early to talk me through this" I tell Esmeralda, who I'm sitting with at the counter in my kitchen as she sketches a plan of the mansion onto a sheet of paper. Well, a plan of where the bedrooms are, Russell's being the most important location.

"Don't worry chicka, I'm on Stanley time so I was up anyway" she replies in her beautiful warm Spanish accent, before taking a sip of her coffee. It's 5.30am, Saturday 18th December 2009. The day Russell Edgington will meet his true death.

"So this is the main staircase?" I ask her as I tap my fingernail on her sketch.

"Yes, you need to continue straight up the next flight afterwards too, go around to the right and then once you're at the top take the hallway to the left. His little concubines all have their own rooms, kinda like the girls who live up in the Playboy mansion with Hugh Hefner do. Except Russell sleeps alone in a casket in his room, he has no number one lover" she replies, while I nod dumbly about her Playboy mansion remark. I don't really take much notice of all of that, how many women live with Hugh Hefner. "Russell's bedroom is at the end of that hallway, and it's a good forty to fifty feet in length just so you're prepared for that. The rooms that lead to it, and there's four of them, are occupied by his lovers, except bedroom number four which is empty. That was Talbot's dressing room and the door has been kept locked since he died, so you've no need to worry about anything bursting out of that room unannounced" she then continues, sketching as she speaks. I take it all in, nodding vigorously.

"So I take it Eric agreed to all this when you told him? Or I wouldn't be sat here right now going over the mansion layout" she asks me, running her thumbnail across the handle of her coffee cup.

"Barely, he was not and still is not happy about it in the slightest. We had a fight when I told him, and then I ran out. He came here last night though and after kissing me told me it was basically a kiss goodbye or a kiss for luck. Then he left" I reply with a shrug.

"Ouch, that's cold" she winces.

"That's Eric. I said something real shitty to him, so I deserved what I got. We'll work through it, we both realize we're as bad tempered and stubborn as each other, but we don't stay mad at one another for long" I reply confidently. He'll get over it eventually, and I'll damn make sure he knows how sorry I am for saying what I did to him.

"Well, I have all the faith in the world in you. Look, I know you're not religious but I want you to have this" she begins, before taking off the silver Saint Christopher pendant she's wearing and then reaching out to fasten it around my neck. "Saint Christopher is the patron saint of travel, he will protect you on your journey, and Jesus will watch over you. I prayed to him to keep you all safe. Good luck, my friend" she tells me, pulling me into her hug and kissing my cheek twice, her spicy perfume filling my nose as I hug her back tightly. Esmeralda hugs are and always will be one of my favourite things. I came to depend on them for my sole comfort at a time when my life as I knew it was effectively taken from 's very strange, even though she's a year younger than me I feel like she's very much a mother figure in my life.

She bids me goodbye before walking home through the forest (hers and Stanley's house is just a fifteen minute walk away from mine, right past the lake) and I stand out on the doorstep on my own enjoying the silence, the stillness, the fact it's just me out here for now. I'm expecting my werewolves at any moment. Calm before the storm is how I see it. I know we're not going to get in and out of there totally smoothly; I'm expecting incidents such as injury along the way. This is something we're all expecting though. I'll just try my hardest to protect my Were's as they will protect me. I'll burn out the retinas of any other wolf not belonging to my pack. I've been practising it too as Agnes suggested (we've been in very close contact after my trip to see her, she's a good friend to me) by thinking of something to raise my temper to boiling point, and then checking my eyes in a mirror for the orange glow. It took many, many frustrating attempts to be able to do it totally on impulse, but I've got it nailed at the crucial time. I can turn it on and off like a light now.

I guess you're wondering though how in the chaos we're likely to get caught up in how I will be able to differentiate my wolves from Russell's. We've already thought of a way to overcome this. When the pack arrives they'll leave their vehicles here, apart from the big haulage van Peter has hired that all of us will be travelling to Jackson in. Basically what will happen is that everyone will change, and as they do I will bundle their clothes and shoes together with a tag with their name on it for easy access when they change back and put them into the back of the van. Then before all the Were's in their wolf form jump aboard, I will mark each of them with a big orange X on their hind quarters so I know they are mine, and not to stare them in the eye by mistake. They literally have about three seconds before they're dead if I do look at them, so this very clever idea Lance thought up will be put into place to ensure that doesn't happen.

When we arrive, since there will be no guards on the gate that is where we will park up and then enter the mansion grounds, fighting off anything in our way until we manage to get across the 200ft long sprawling lawn before we reach the mansion doors. Then, ten wolves will keep guard at the door and fifteen will take the stairs with me, eight being lookouts along the way, six guarding the doors of the other vampires asleep in the bedrooms along the hallway leading to Russell's room (two wolves per vampire, I've been assured that two grown wolves will be able to rip apart one daylight weak vampire in moments) and then Cobie. He has insisted he will not leave my side throughout this, and will stand by me when I end Russell. He's just so impeccably loyal, and when I see him walking up the drive to me with Lance and Peter, the sounds of other cars arriving in the very near distance, he bows his head and as soon as I've nodded in release he gives me the most bone crunching hug I think I've ever received.

"Ready?" he asks me after I've been greeted in much the same way by Lance and Peter, watching Were's Katie and her husband Mike coming down the path, Scott, Riley and Brooke close to follow.

"Ready" I reply, my nerves turning to temper as I remember how Russell mocked me when I was at my lowest point, how he called me his 'pet', how he was happy to use me as currency.

"Oh, Madge, you might want to rethink the grey sweater. Blood splash back and all" Cobie then adds to me, causing me to pause and look at my lovely sweater and agree he's right before going back into my bedroom and changing into a black one, and taking one of my old black wool coats I never wear anymore along with me too. I pick up my longbow and arrows, my purse and my keys, locking my front door and turning to see more Were's have gathered and are standing at the perimeters of the lake. And so it begins. I take the tags and sharpie marker pen from my purse and then begin to bundle and tag the clothes of the Were's as they change form one by one except for Cobie and Peter who help me tag everything and put the clothes bundles into the back of the truck. It's hard for Were's to keep their wolf form for an extended period of time when there isn't a full moon, so they're all going to change again once we are out of the mansion and back in the van. Once they are all changed I mark each of them with a large orange cross on their hind quarters before opening the truck and letting them all in.

Cobie, Lance and I sit up in the cab and Peter drives, and even though I am sure in my plan and its effectiveness I cannot help but stare at my home as we pull off and wonder if it could be the last time I'll ever see it. I then mentally chide myself for that though, I cannot let negativity or doubt creep in or I will fail this. This is the most monumental task of my whole life, a task that will change that life forever if I succeed, as I'll be free of the vile blood sack that is Russell Edgington. The four of us sit silently as we hit the freeway, all lost in our own thoughts. For me those thoughts consist of how I will never forget the year 2009, how this year changed my life forever. I never, ever imagined any of this could have been the result for going to work for Eric. When I first stepped over the threshold of Fangtasia in early January this year there was no way I could have even anticipated anything like this.

Fate lead me to everything I have discovered this year, from finding an amazing boyfriend who also happens to be my very distant family to discovering I am not human, to this. The task I have to undertake today is very much destined to be, just as it was that I found Eric and discovered what I was. Destiny, I never imagined mine would be as arduous as this. But every cloud has its silver lining, Eric is that silver lining. I must keep this in mind; this is why I am doing what I am doing, so we can be free. I also must keep in mind that I want this to go as smoothly as possible, no excessive drama, just go in and get the job done and then leave. I get the feeling as much as I want this to be fuss free it probably won't be. Also with Eric in mind I pull my cell from my purse and type out a text to him. I sit for about ten minutes trying to word it properly before I realize there is only one sentiment that truly needs to be said, so I type it and send it.

"I love you" is all I need to say, so there I just said it. I will come out of this to tell him to. I'm still furious at myself for throwing it in his face, telling him I thought he was gutless for never telling me those three words. He isn't gutless at all and I didn't mean what I said to him. I realize now, I've never actually worded it to him either. Why? I'm scared of those words, just like he is. He's afraid to say them because he hasn't loved anyone like this for hundreds upon hundreds of years and I haven't told him because I'm scared of never hearing him reciprocate. I will break that loop with him when I see him again.

Before I know it we've crossed state lines and are just thirty minutes from Jackson within a blink of an eye. Deep breaths keep me calm, my head zoning out as I keep in mind how I must stay cool and collected. As Joan of Arc once put it 'I am not afraid, I was born to do this'. I was born to do this, as Godric told me this destiny is written in the stars, this is what I am meant to do. This doesn't stop the nerves from building against my will though, thoughts of being taken again filling my mind, the horror of what I went through still so fresh in my head. I know my wolves will not let me be taken again, I know they'll put themselves between me and my enemies, but the fear is still there just lurking beneath the surface. I have this confirmed to me when Cobie suddenly grips my forearm to get my attention.

"Are you okay?" he asks me as we pass the 'Welcome to Jackson' sign. The last time I saw that I was in Eric's arms, bleeding and broken as he took me away from this city for what I thought would be the last time I'd ever be in it.

"I'm trying to be" I confess, knowing I can relay my fears to him.

"You will be. I won't let anything happen to you, I promise my queen" he assures me, putting his arm around me.

"Me too" Lance chimes in.

"Me three" Peter says, turning to smile at me in the warmest way I've ever seen the normally very steely and sincere Were smile before. I smile as all of them and then just rest my head back against Cobie's shoulder, reaching up to hold his hand where it rests on my shoulder and giving it a squeeze he returns.

"In turn, I won't let anything happen to any of you either" I finally reply, being met by respectful nods all round even though I know in their hearts they very much see themselves as the protectors of me and not the other way around. Who does that remind me of? You know, the big E. The big E who hasn't replied to my message because of course he's asleep right now. Who knows? He might see me before he sees that text, and if so I can tell him face to face just how much I love him, and not care if he doesn't say it back. Love isn't selfish, I must remember that. I must not be selfish in expecting to hear a sentiment he might not be capable of wording. Just like right now I must not be selfish and think of my own safety in all of this, I must think what I am doing is going to be for the greater good of so many other people other than me and Eric, and if it means forsaking myself so be it.

'I am not afraid, I was born to do this'. You said it Joan.

**Authors note - Ladies, I am so sorry you're not getting your thrice weekly updates. I've been so busy with work that I'm just too tired to write after I've come home, got my kids (a dog, a rabbit and two guinea pigs lol) sorted out, done the chores and got my nightly hour of working out done. All I'm ready for after that is bed, and feel it not appropriate to work on my story when I'm so damn tired and am not capable of putting my best into it. Since it is coming to the end now I want to really do the story justice by writing a good ending. So you'll have to patiently bear with me while I find the time to do this without falling asleep at my laptop ;) hahaha! Thank you all though, for being such a dedicated audience xxx**


	59. Chapter 59

Tyra's POV.

We arrive outside of the mansion at 11.05am, to find Nan has kept her promise. There's not one guard present. But that doesn't mean I don't have my suspicions, I'd be a fool not to. I'm not the only one either.

"Before we go in, there's something I want to check" Lance says as he lets himself out of the cab and lights up a cigarette. I follow him out and watch him as he carefully approaches the gate and then blows a lungful of smoke out, doing the same thing when he crouches down.

"I'm looking for a laser beam. I don't trust Flanagan one little bit and neither should you, my queen" he then tells me. That's something I've thought about of course. Although I had not thought that there could be devices set up to alert those inside of the mansion to intruders. There's no CCTV system or anything like that, so Lance is very smart to check for laser beams. Turns out there are none though, so that's one thing we can be thankful for. While we've been busy with this Peter has opened the van and let out the pack, which are now all lined up behind us.

"This is it then. Let luck be on the side of us all, remember, stay alert and at all costs guard the queen" Peter says to his assembled troops before he changes, and then Lance after giving me a very respectful nod. I put their clothes in the cab and then turn to see the one last Were who hasn't changed yet.

"Here's goes nothing, and damnit we're going to party tonight in celebration" Cobie tells me with a big grin, resting his hand on my shoulder and giving it a squeeze before off come his clothes and then there he stands in his statuesque wolf form, squinting into the sunshine as he looks up at the mansion. I put his clothes away, grab my long bow and arrows and lock the cab before I'm ready. I know they're all waiting for my word, my command. I give that by walking to the gate, reaching out and pushing both sides open and the striding up the long driveway surrounded by my wolves from all angles. They form a circle around me, and as I promised I must keep walking and not stop and turn to assist them. I have to keep walking, staring down oncoming wolves to their deaths as I go.

The first one comes charging out from the right, closely by a second a third. Channelling my anger, playing back the time I spent in the mansion's basement in my head I stare hard into the eyes of one of the wolves, and within a second he stops, within another he changes back to human, and then in the next following ones he's howling in pain as his eyes, ears and nose bleed. He's dead soon after, and so are his two friends two of my wolves take down one, and I handle the other, turning quickly to do the same to a forth coming from dead ahead. The fifth one running at us from the side is taken out by Cobie alone; who plants both paws into his head before opening his mouth and clamping his jaws around the smaller wolfs neck. I bet he wasn't expecting to say goodbye to his throat quite so quickly. I certainly wasn't. Even though he's huge as a wolf, it's still amazing, the extreme strength they possess; especially when you take into consideration that Russell's werewolves are all hopped up on V.

This means that as our walk turns into a run, as we meet more wolves our side is not without injury. I hear cries of pain and see bloodied fur on a number of my wolves as they continue to circle me. I turn my head quickly to check for more serious casualties, and am relieved to see just the naked, dead bodies of Russell's Were's and not mine. Turning back again my eyes fix upon a wolf running from the right and take him out in three seconds with a scorching eye burn, his buddy following from the left a few seconds later receives the same fate. We keep running the monstrously long drive, attacking and killing anything to get in our way until suddenly about fifteen of them run at us all at once, and in the furore I'm knocked to the floor, the sharp feeling of teeth imbedding themselves into my leg just above my knee making me roar in pain. That pain is lessened in an instant when I see Lance and another Were of mine (Janet I think, she and her brother Matt both change into sandy beige coloured wolves) lunge at the wolf who has hold of my leg and tear him to shreds as he changes back to human, howling as his hand is ripped off. Silence falls over him when Janet tears his throat out.

With a burst of adrenaline I haul myself up, staring my deadly stare at as many Were's as I can as my leg burns in pain. I can feel the blood trickling down my knee, but that doesn't matter right now. After much effort, we manage to kill them all and with me being the only casualty too apart from the fact Peter has a slightly torn ear from what I can see. We stand still for a few moments, all scanning around us for more hidden Were's ready to pounce. It's at this point that I feel a tongue licking my leg, and look down to see Cobie, making little concerned whimpering sounds as he does.

"Bite here, I'll tie it up to stop the bleeding" I tell him as I offer my sleeve to him, watching him take the material between his teeth and then give it a good yank, ripping the sleeve clean off.

"Thanks, and don't worry I'm fine" I tell him as he continues to whimper, looking between my face and my wounded leg. I take my sleeve and tie it tightly around my bleeding leg, forcing the urge to growl in pain deep down inside of me as I grit my teeth, and once my wound is securely bound on we move once more. The rest of the way up to the mansion is a free run. I turn back only once to see the bodies of Russell's Were's all over the lawn, quickly figuring there must be about twenty or more corpses lying there. Therefore we've got past hurdle number one nicely. Well, not so nicely if you could feel the level of pain I'm currently feeling in my leg. This is a small price to pay though.

Reaching the front of the mansion we now have to take in hurdle number two, getting inside the mansion. I decide since the door is naturally locked when I try it the next best course of action is to knock politely.

"Let us in or take an arrow to your head. Choice is yours" I tell the butler who opens the door to us, looking startled as he takes in the huge arrow I have pulled back in my bow pointed right between his eyes.

"We won't harm you or any other human in here if you let us in. Go round up all the staff, and do it now. By the way, I know how many people work for Edgington, so if you try and pull any stunts with regards to not getting all the staff present and correct down here in the welcoming hall quietly within the next two minutes, you die. Do I make myself clear?" I then ask him when I'm met by his scared silence. He nods and swings the doors open, and while he goes off to round up the rest of the staff with me still pointing an arrow at his head my wolves enter quietly. They keep guard over the few members of housekeeping staff who were milling around upon our entrance, and the butler and me return within a few moments with the full staff of ten humans, who my wolves round up into the corner by the door.

"None of you will be hurt. I promise you. But I cannot say the same about your boss. For those of you who do not know me, who never saw me while I was here, I'm the girl he kept prisoner in the basement. I hope as humans you all have enough humanity to understand that after doing what he did to me, his true death is all he deserves now" I tell them, my voice quivering with emotion I did not intend it to have. Through that crack in my strong and stern demeanour though I earn what I need. The go ahead to do what I have to do without anyone here assembled hampering me, for near enough all of them nod at me in permission. Not that I was waiting for that of course.

We take the stairs, and as arranged my wolves come with me and all go off to their designated spots to keep guard, leaving me with the seven who will come with me down the huge hallway that leads to the vampires' bedrooms. Six run ahead of myself and Cobie and stand two abreast at each door, staring intently and ready to pounce. I look down the huge hallway and then back at Cobie. He gives me a little yap of a bark and then supportively touches his paw to my hand. That is all the reassurance I need to move forward. A huge surge of adrenaline consumes me as I move quickly and quietly down the hallway, my heart thundering in my chest with equal measures of fear and excitement. Finally, I'm at the bedroom door.

With a deep breath I reach out and grasp the handle, turning it until I hear a soft clunk of the mechanism opening, and then use my foot to kick the door open wide while bracing my arrow back in the bow and entering with Cobie still right by my side, pointing it at the form in the bed that suddenly springs up and almost scares me half to death. Russell Edgington literally flies from under the covers until he comes to a stop about three metres from us, his face suddenly going from bold to incredulous. He looks incensed, confused, angry and then strangely accepting.

"So, you've come to get your revenge have you Wolverina?" he asks me, while Cobie places himself right between us and growls deeply and furiously. It takes me a second to answer, because for one moment I suddenly see Eric's face flash through my mind. What I see is the facial expression he had when he told me about what happened to his family, to my distant family, the grief that has haunted him for the last thousand years. It is at this point that I know my reason for killing him has changed.

"This isn't for me Russell. This is for my family who you murdered, for Arvid, Lydia, Felix and Astrid Northman. Fuck you from them" I tell him before I let the arrow go, and watch it strike him straight in the chest. I curse immediately when he doesn't explode into blood and sinew right away, knowing I've missed his heart. But I have got him good; I see this as he drops to his knees and begins to mutter something in a language I don't understand.

"Cu ani in urma o mistica mi-a spus un archer ar fi de-o la sfarsitul mine. I-am asteptat pentru tine" he croaks, before my second arrow is delivered straight into his heart. Cobie has the sense to jump back, as a moment later the vile, evil, murderous vampire who has plagued this world for centuries explodes before our eyes. The relief at seeing this is so huge tears begin to stream down my face, and happily Cobie and I exit the bedroom and begin to run back down the hallway. Suddenly, a presence behind me that knocks me flying into a window alerts me to the fact our getaway is not going to be so easy, and then it all happens so fast.

The vampire on top of me is knocked off before he has the chance to drop fang and feed from me, and three wolves including Cobie set upon him. One (Peter) is thrown straight into a wall, but that is all he can do because as soon as I'm up and ignoring the big slash down my arm from the shattered glass I put an arrow straight through him. The second door then bursts open, and once again the vampire is immediately put down with an arrow. While this is happening I see Peter get himself up (still in wolf form) and begin to hobble towards me, and it is this that takes my attention away from vampire number three.

"I'll be having that. Now, back to the basement you go!" Estilo, the vile little queen who loved to taunt me so much, who destroyed the ring Eric gave to me snarls as he grabs my bow and breaks it in two and then grabs me by my hair.

"ONE MOVE AND YOUR QUEEN DIES!" He screams as my wolves surge forward, growling furiously. No, this will not happen again. No, no, NO!

"Time to get me some of what I've been hankering after, your all powerful blood, then we'll see who will try and take you again when I'm the strongest vampire in the whole of the United States because of that blood!" he announces triumphantly as he tears my head to the side and plunges his fangs into my neck. At that moment, as I feel for a brief flicker of a second that all is lost, I feel something hit me in the leg and then feel the fangs withdraw from my neck, hearing Estilo roar in pain. Unarmed there's only one thing I have to protect myself. I take the St Christopher pendant Esmeralda put around my neck this morning and pull it until the chain breaks, then manage to spin free of Estilo's clutches and push the pendant part straight into his eye. While he roars in pain again I throw myself across the floor and grab an arrow, clutching it in both hands as I turn back to him and then plunge it straight into his chest. He's reduced to blood all over me and Cobie (who was what I felt hit me in the leg as he bravely rushed forward and bit Estilo right in the balls) within a moment.

"LET'S GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!" I shout, before we all begin to charge back down the hallway and down the stairs, the injured Peter and I last in the line with Cobie and Lance behind us serving as protection since we are both hampered by our injuries. Him hobbling as fast as he can on three legs while I limp and hold my torn up arm as we run back down the stairs.

"What the hell are we to do now then? Now you've killed our boss, you're going to just leave us with the mess? We'll be implicated in his murder!" One of the staff cries at me when I reach the bottom of the steps.

"Call Nan Flanagan at the AVL, tell her Tyra said to look after you all or else. You'll be fine, this deal has been pre arranged. If you need any more advice, well I'd say loot the place for all it's worth and leave. You've no obligation to Russell Edgington any longer, just as I have no obligation to stand her and explain anything to any of you any longer. Bye" I tell them cheerfully before me and my wolves all leave, adrenaline the only thing to fuel us all as we tear a path out of there and back down to the front gates. I retrieve the keys from my pocket and open up the tailgate, all the wolves jumping in speedily. I close it and hear the odd noises of them turning back into humans again muted from the back of the van, and turn back to see a half dressed Cobie assisting a naked Peter, Lance getting back into his clothes at speed. What we must look like to passers by lord only knows, so I'm glad that after a quick glance around I see no one present other than us.

"One of you guys is gonna have to drive us home, my fucking arm is broken and my leg isn't far off" Peter says through gritted teeth as with help from Cobie he's able to get his bottom half of his attire back on at least.

"Here give me the keys and I'll start her up Tyra" Lance offers. I pass him the keys and then run around to the cab, pulling out one vital piece of kit we need. This is a big old black bed sheet Cobie brought along to cover the seats in the cab and protect the upholstery from blood stains. He was right to bring it, because I for one look like I've just walked off the set of a horror film, and my three main werewolf friends are all also in much the same state. Once in the cab we get Peter as comfortable as possible, with Cobie tearing away some of the sheet between us and the seats and making a makeshift sling to help his packmaster sit a little more comfortably. We then clean ourselves off with the packet of cleaning face wipes I brought with me for this very purpose, so we do not attract the attention of any passing police vehicles on our ride home covered in blood. Once all presentable, we move off.

"I would say let's just take you to the nearest hospital, but if you can bear to wait until we're back in Bon Temps I can do one better and get you to Lafayette. He deals V, and if you can wait of course it'll heal you a lot quicker than a plaster cast and painkillers will" I tell him, watching him wince as he does his best to fight the pain.

"Yeah, I'll wait. I can't afford more time off work anyways" he says casually with a smile through his pain, his words making us all laugh. We then stop suddenly and look around at each other as we smile, and then all laugh again. The relief and the happiness in this cab are so thick right now you could cut through the air with a knife. We did it, we ended him.

"He said something to me before he died. Edgington that is" I say once we've all composed ourselves.

"What did he tell you? That he's going to hunt you down in ghost form?" Lance replies before we all laugh again.

"I've got no idea" I say, shaking my head. "I don't even know what language he spoke in".

"Ahh it's a good job Smithy here knows a thing or two about dialect then" Cobie suddenly announces. Since he surname is Smith he often refers to himself in third party terms as 'Smithy'.

"Come on then brain box, do tell us all what he said" I reply after a moment or two of silence.

"That bit I'm unsure on, but I definitely know what he said to you was in Romanian. My grandmother is Romanian; I don't think I ever told you that. But basically she taught me the language at an early age so I recognised it instantly. I've just tapped out what he said to me phonetically so I can call her up and ask her once we're back home and I can write it down off my cell" he replies, showing me a message he's saved on his cell with the last and final words Edgington ever spoke.

"Wow, I had no idea he was Romanian originally" I reply, pondering on that thought for a few moments.

"He might not have been. Some vampires of that age naturally slip into a dialect they feel most comfortable with, especially if their original and often ancient language has died out" Lance tells me while I nod. That makes sense I guess. Not that I care one ounce, but it will be interesting to discover what he said to me, what his final words were. Until then though my only concern is Peter's comfort, which I try and assist with by elevating his leg on my purse and his shoes after wedging them under the dash and resting his foot up. He can move his toes so I suspect his leg is just pulled or torn on the muscles and thankfully not broken. Hell to that though, I'm just damned fucking thankful we all got out alive!

When Estilo grabbed me for a few moments I thought that was it. He'd feed from me, become more powerful than any vampire who could ever save me (spare perhaps Agnes) and keep me locked up there to continue the selling of my blood. The thought alone makes me shudder. I stop myself here though, from thinking of what could have been. It is what it is, and we triumphed over him. No negative thoughts need to creep in as to what could have been. A time later when we're just coming up to the border to enter Louisiana again I pull my cell from my purse (after carefully lifting Peter's leg off of it) and call Lafayette to see where he's at. Thankfully he's home, and tells me 'I'll see y'all in a little while then ice princess' after I ask him for his assistance.

"Prey tell what in the name of all things Holy have you been doing honey child?" he booms at me forty minutes later when we all show up on his doorstep looking rather tattered and bloody.

"Killing vampires" all four of us reply at the same time before laughing, Lafayette too with eyes wide.

"So you went to exert yo' revenge on that sack of shit that locked you up did you? Damn baby, come here" he says, pulling me into a huge hug.

"I did, but right now I need to get him sorted. Broken arm and a fucked up leg" I point to Peter as Lance helps him into the house. I introduce my werewolves quickly to Lafayette, who at once goes off to fetch some V from where he keeps it and then comes right back and passes the vial to Peter, and then opens up another he has in his hand and begins dabbing it at my bleeding arm. The cut isn't too bad I see before it quickly starts to heal. The one on my leg is a different matter though, and requires me to ingest some of the blood in the vial he holds. This isn't something I really want to do as I only like taking blood from Eric. But when I feel the blood hit my tongue, I know instantly this is my vampires' blood I am imbibing. I'd know Eric's blood anywhere. I never thought he'd be willing to sell his own blood back when he was dealing V for Sophie Anne though. It is something he has stopped doing now, telling Lafayette to sell the rest of the stock as quickly as he could. I will not let on to him that my friend still has a little supply of the substance he shouldn't really be selling.

"I know having vampire blood isn't something that sits well with you, but as you said yourself you can't take any further time off work" I quip to Peter, watching him raise his eyebrows and smile.

"I can put aside my usual displeasure over vampires for this I think. Damn, that's feeling better already" Peter says as he looks down at the peculiar sight of bones moving and re knitting themselves under his skin. While we're looking over our healing injuries I notice Cobie has moved away to talk on his cell, talking to his grandmother. I don't find out what was said until quite a while later though, after Lance has taken Peter home (the other wolves were let out of the van upon our return and all made their own way home while we were at Lafayette's) and it is just him and me back at my place.

"So was that grandma you were on the phone to earlier?" I ask him as I prepare us some coffees in my kitchen.

"Indeed it was Madge, and just give me a sec and I shall recite to me what she told me the exact translation to English was" he replies, while scrolling through his cell (the exact same HTC model I now have after my recent upgrade) until he finds what he is looking for.

"Okay, he said to you, and I quote. 'Years ago a mystic told me an archer would be the one to end me. I've been waiting for you'. How fricken spooky is that? He knew an archer was coming for him, but he had no idea it was you until he saw you there" he replies, his words stunning me. Russell was not the only person to mention that it was destiny that an archer would be the one to end him. That is exactly what Godric told me when he visited me in a dream last. 'The archer will succeed'. I have his voice speaking those words going around and around in my head right now, as well as the translation from Cobie's grandmother. I suppose now I have my answer as to why he looked accepting when he saw me with an arrow pointed at his chest. He knew it was his fate, just as I knew it was mine to kill him.

Now there's only one vampire to worry about. Mine. I have no idea what his reaction will be either. I cannot guess whether he will be as pleased and proud of me as I am, or if he will sit there and act moodily with me for putting myself at such risk, especially when he hears the full story. Time will tell on that one, just three hours and counting until the night falls.

**Authors note - Ladies! So sorry you've had to wait over a week for this! I've been so furiously busy and then last week I turned 30 so I celebrated A LOT! :D I have begun to write the last chapter, so I hope to have this up for you in the next few days with a bit of luck. Thank you all for sticking with me, for tirelessly reading and reviewing this story that for me, has been a labour of love for the entire seven months it's taken me to write it! You rock! xxx**


	60. Chapter 60

Eric's POV

The first thing I feel when I awake is the flood of relief. Relief over the fact I can feel Tyra's emotions, meaning of course she is still alive. I have to admit I'm still angry at her for putting herself in such danger, but mostly I am just so relieved and pleased she's okay. At least I think she's okay, I can feel that she feels happy but I know no more than that. I can only assume she's happy because she's killed Russell. I find out first hand from the lady herself though when she arrives later.

"Pam told me I'd find you up here" I hear her voice speak a few moments after I felt her presence drawing closer to me up the stairs. Just five minutes after I watched her car enter the parking lot from up here on the roof of the club. "Strange location to find you in, up here on the roof" she continues as she walks over to me.

"I felt like being at one with the night, until I heard from you. Having you here in person is even better though. So..." I reply, trailing off my sentence with expectant tones.

"He's dead" she offers immediately. "It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be though. On our way out we had an altercation with that prick Estilo. He grabbed me and proclaimed he was going to recapture me, and feed off my blood to make himself strong enough to keep me there too. To be able to kill any vampire that came to rescue me. Cobie saved me; he threw himself forward and bit him in the balls. I then pushed this into his eye, shame I had to break it though" she continues, taking a small pendant from her pocket. "He broke my bow when he lunged for me, so I had to spear him by hand with an arrow. They're all dead, every vampire residing there".

"You could have been killed" I state.

"I could have, you're right. I thought I might have been for a few moments" she replies, looking away from me for a moment before her gorgeous blue eyes meet mine again.

"But you weren't. Because you kept your word to me, you told me you'd see it through to the end. That you could do it and you did. You've done me very proud my darling" I tell her, my anger subsided completely. Just seeing her here, and seeing that light in her eyes that I haven't seen since before she was kidnapped fully restored makes my anger slip away.

"Thank you" she replies, breathing a sigh of relief and smiling when I put my arms around her shoulders and pull her close to me. She wraps her arms around my waist and rests her head against my chest, and we just stand there contently, peacefully, and silently. It's all over. Gone, finished. So is the vampire who murdered my family and imprisoned my lady along with it. Of course, to stand aside and let her do this was a massive, huge dent to my pride. But I had to allow it. In this instance, she really did know best. Accepting that is something I truly must do, and learn from it. I've stated I regard her as my equal and not a lesser to me. It's about time I began acting like it too.

"Tyra?"

"Yes?" she replies after about five silent minutes have passed between us.

"If I never say this to you again, I want you to remember it, and never, ever doubt it. I love you, I love you more than any other and I always will" I tell her. That's the first time since Ida I've been able to tell anyone that. The feeling it gives me inside feels uncomfortable for a moment, until I feel her arms tighten around me as she looks up at me.

"I know you do. I see it in your eyes all the while. That's why you never need to tell me again. Just keep looking at me like you're looking at me right now" she replies. I can feel her heartbeat quickening in her chest, her energy growing so strong it's overwhelming. The most powerful thing of all though is what else I can feel, what she voices to me.

"Oh, and I love you too" she whispers a few moments later.

"I know you do, I see it in your eyes all the while" I reply, copying what she told me which makes her laugh softly. I silence that laugh after smiling down on her, pressing my mouth to hers and spending the next ten or so minutes devoting my sole attention to kissing her.

"It's a nice view up here, isn't it?" I muse a time later, as we both sit on the edge of the club roof, looking out at the lights over the city.

"It is, but I'm starting to get a little chilly" she replies, just as I feel her shudder against my arm.

"Then back down to the warmth we go" I reply, standing up and assisting her in doing the same before we walk back across the roof to the door that leads to the stairs. Once we're back in my apartment I see she's brought a few things with her.

"I thought you wouldn't mind if we stayed with you for a little while, just in case of anything any supporters of Russell decide to do in revenge on me" she tells me as I take in the large bag and empty cat travelling bag. Just when I wonder where the kitty cargo from it is, up onto my shoulder she jumps.

"That's a good idea, but I doubt anyone would have the sense to get involved with it. Now he's dead, I'm the most powerful vampire currently residing in the United States. That means something to all the other vampires out there, but Russell was never very popular to begin with. I'd still like you both to stay though of course" I reply while scratching the small purring animal balancing on my shoulder. "If anything but to see the meeting I've planned with Nan Flanagan in just over seven hours time. She's arriving to finalise the deal at 1am" I then add.

"I will be one hell of a keen observer to that" she replies as we move to the couch to sit down, Poon jumping off my shoulder and settling down next to her owner, who lies flat out and rests her head down on my lap.

"After that then it really will all be over. So, I propose you start choosing our vacation destination. As I promised I will take you anywhere in the world you want to go to. Absolutely anywhere, so here you go. I was thinking of going in the New Year" I reply, reaching forward and picking up my laptop computer off the table in front of the couch and passing it to her.

"I'd better get looking then" she replies, taking the laptop from me and sitting up properly to switch it on. We then sit there and look at various places all over the world for an hour or so, an exercise I never envisaged I'd be participating in if you'd asked me this time last here. Here I am, sitting with the woman I'm one hundred percent committed to, deciding where to take our vacation. It's strange how some things turn out. I'm very glad of this outcome though. Being in a relationship with her has brought about a lot of change for me, all for the good too. I haven't softened any, not to anyone but her at least. She does me good, and I don't like to think of ever being without her either. This is where my next course of actions leads with Nan Flanagan. Let's just say I do not trust her one inch with knowing what she knows, the rest of the AVL too for that matter.

"Before Nan arrives, there's something I want to run past you" I tell Tyra, after she's decided Australia is the country she wants to visit on our vacation. I must say I like her choice since it is one of the few places I have never ventured to.

"My ears are open" she replies, before I tell her what I need to...

"Good evening Eric, Tyra, Pam" Nan greets the three of us with as she and her associate stride into my office where we are all assembled waiting for her.

"Nan" I reply with a nod from behind my desk, idly stroking Tyra's arm who is sitting in the chair next to me. Pam stands to the side of the desk.

"So, I do believe we have a deal to finalise here tonight. Let's get to it as quickly as possible, since I do not wish to spend one moment more than I have to in this flea pit of a nightclub of yours Northman" she replies, resting her hands on the desk in front of her.

"Believe me, the sight of the back of your head leaving my 'flea pit' as you put it is something I'm looking forward to witnessing. So yes, let's get down to business. What you have in front of you is a legally binding contract that states that we will not ever divulge the information we have on you for your part in the bribe taken by yourselves from Edgington to remain under house arrest, and the kidnap of my girlfriend, for as long as you and the rest of your organization play by our rules. Of course, I will allow you the time you need to read it over" I reply. She picks up the contract and begins to read through, while I give Tyra the briefest of sideways glances that she then in turn gives to Pam.

"In interest of things being kept friendly between us, Eric and I have organised for a gift to be available to you both. We have a new Japanese barmaid, who is very willing to be drunk of. As we all know Japanese blood is the one of the sweetest known to us vampires. Grahame, may I escort you to meet Mai-Ling while these three finish up business?" Pam drawls in her best slow and sexy tone as she approaches Nan's associate. His eyes light up like a Christmas tree at the offer of Japanese blood, and after getting a go ahead nod from Nan the two of them leave.

"Well someone give me a pen so I can sign this, partake of drinking some of the world's most delicious blood and then leave?" Nan says in an inpatient tone after she's read the contract.

"One thing Nan, just before you do sign" Tyra begins whilst picking up a pen and getting up to slowly walk around the desk and give it to Nan. "I really am sorry it all had to come to this, I honestly am" she then adds, pressing her hand into Nan's shoulder. I watch as Nan feels her energy flowing into her, watching her face change as she feels that beautiful energy Tyra's kind have. The effect of it makes what I have to do easier than I thought.

"You're not sorry at all. The only thing I'm sorry for is the fact you managed to escape us, because that energy you have is something I could get used to" she replies, trying in spite of herself not to like Tyra's energy as much as she obviously does. My lady takes her arm off her shoulder, folds her arms and just smiles as Nan turns back to the contract and signs her name to it.

"Like I said Nan, I am sorry it had to come to this" Tyra says, before I reach out and grab Nan by her throat and slam her head down onto the desk.

"Did you think this was all that would happen? Do you think I was honestly going to let you walk away from what you did to her with no further punishment?" I snarl at her angrily whilst pointing at Tyra.

"You can't do this Northman! Grahame will feel my distress and come back, and then you'll have a witness to this!" she splutters, trying to get free but failing. My strength is about 600 years superior to hers.

"Grahame will be dead in about a minute Nan, just as you will. The only thing you signed your name to is a confession to what you and the rest of the AVL did, which will be handed over to the authorities as soon as I'm done wiping up the mess your carcass leaves behind. Sweetheart, do you have any last words for Ms Flanagan?" I reply, addressing Tyra at the end of course.

"I do, and they would be I hope this hurts" Tyra says, before spitting in Nan's face. The 'this' she is referring to is what I do next. Grabbing a handful of Nan's hair I drag her at speed to the basement, wait for Tyra to be present, and then simply rip each of her limbs off before decapitating her with my bare hands. The only noise that follows the tearing of her limb from limb is the sound of Tyra clapping.

"Very well done my darling" she tells me, after flicking a piece of gut off her shoulder.

"Thank you, I thought so too" I reply, before taking her bloodied hand in my bloodied hand (killing vampires is not a clean job by far) and escorting her back to the apartment and straight into the shower. So I suppose you're wondering how Nan managed to read over one contract and sign a totally different one aren't you. Let me explain. It is true that we have a new Japanese barmaid; although only 4ft 10 inches tall you still cannot miss Mai-Ling since her skin is covered to about 50% with tattoos and she has bright red hair. But I used her as temptation to lure Grahame away, so that when Tyra distracted Nan with her energy he would not notice me quickly switching the contracts over, and of course Nan was too distracted with euphoric Wolverina energy to notice either. There was no way in hell I was prepared to let her or the rest of the AVL walk after what they did to Tyra. What sort of vampire do you take me for? I'm vengeful, and I always will be.

What has just happened in the basement will lead to a course of events I of course pre planned out. The police will get their confession from Nan, who will have appeared to have fled the country (my computer hacker associate is laying a fake trail of flight bookings and credit card transactions to back this up as we speak, for Grahame too), the AVL will be brought up in front of a court for their crimes and probably dissolve under such pressure and scrutiny, and a new vampire league will be formed. A new governing body that I have already spoken to Agnes about, that she will be able to put in place after the fall of the AVL since she is the oldest vampire in the world it is entirely her place to do so. Everything that has brought us to this moment in time has been meticulously organized and arranged, and everything I just confided in you happens too.

In the days and weeks that follow my murder of Nan, the AVL as we know it dissolves without a trace. President Obama personally invites Agnes Bynhild to The White House to discuss the reformation of the AVL, with less ruthless vampires at the helm (or rather vampires who are non negotiable over bribes). Apparently after learning all about the case and charges brought to the AVL he looked into the world hierarchy of vampires and of course discovered Agnes to be the oldest.

"If there is any one vampire I want to liaise with over how human and vampire relations are controlled and regulated on US soil from this day forth, then it is the oldest in the world. I feel it imperative that we as a nation strive to move forward together, undead and alive both in coalition. It is with the help of vampire Queen Bynhild of Norway that this shall be done". That was part of the speech he made live from The White House about the fall of the AVL two weeks ago. Agnes arrived in Washington two days later. She came to visit us last night after her stay with the President, and I shall hand you over to Tyra now so she can tell you all about it.

Tyra's POV.

So as Eric has told you, the AVL dissolved and President Obama called upon Agnes to help reform a new one, which they have duly done. Basically everything is the same, there's still the hierarchy of the states of the USA being split up into areas, and the appointed kings, queens and sheriff's of those areas all remain the same (except for Mississippi of course). The new king of Mississippi will be appointed in due course. Other than sitting in on meetings with the President and king or queen of each state Agnes says she didn't do much, merely mediated. I know that's her being modest. That's not all she did though, oh no. I'm about to find out though, since she's just arrived here at the club on the second night of her five day visit to Louisiana...

"We really should get up, but I must confess I am very reluctant to" Eric tells me, lying naked next to me with his head rested on my stomach, turning it to the side to kiss the underside of my breast. He awoke at 4pm, and we've been having sex ever since. It just turned 8.30pm. Yeah, I'd be jealous too.

"Me too, but don't worry as soon as Agnes leaves we can head straight back here, promise" I reply, my hand stroking his chest, the soft blonde hairs damp from the sweat that came off me.

"That is what I had planned, with or without your consent" he replies with a wink, while I just laugh a little and shake my head. Agnes will be arriving at 9.30pm so eventually we drag ourselves out of bed and begin to get ready. After showering Eric dresses in a simple tight deep grey t shirt and black jeans, and I put on my new deep bronze coloured silk camisole top, my leather leggings and a pair of very high heeled strappy sandals.

"Your new gym routine is definitely showing results already" Eric compliments me as I do my makeup in the bathroom, watching him in the mirror as he stands behind me and strokes my stomach and then my arms. Cobie talked me into going, since I decided my New Year's resolution would be to take up another activity to add to my fitness routine. I now attend the gym three mornings a week with young Mr Smith, and have for the last three weeks too. Since things have been up in the air regarding the AVL Eric and I decided not to book our vacation just yet, but will do so as soon as Agnes returns to Norway. I only saw her briefly for a few hours last night as I was locked in work (my business is booming) so I am looking forward to putting aside some time over the next few days to spend with her.

We walk upstairs to the empty club (it's a Sunday) and I sit and have a glass of red wine whilst we talk and wait for Agnes to arrive. Pam joins us after ten minutes, and is the one to get up and answer the knock at the front entrance a further ten minutes after that. She comes back into the main area of the club with Agnes behind her, and behind Agnes a young woman of around my age.

"Eric"

"Agnes"

They greet each other in the usual way, and then Agnes reaches me where I've stood from my seat and greets me in the non usual way for a vampire, but a normal way for us. She gives me a gentle hug and smiles her usual wide smile at me as she looks me over. She always does that, it's like she's checking me over to make sure everything is the same with me as it was the last time she saw me. It's almost a motherly way to act I've always thought.

"My dear, you look incredibly well" she tells me warmly.

"Thank you" I reply with a little nod, my eyes leaving hers and briefly landing on the blonde girl standing behind her.

"Tyra, I have somebody I would like you to meet. I'm sorry I did not tell you about her sooner, but I wanted this to be a surprise for you. This is Nina Abrahamsen, and she's a Wolverina" Agnes replies, smiling just that touch wider at the look of shock and delight all over my face. At last, another of my kind turns up. I just knew I couldn't be the only one. Agnes steps to the side to allow Nina and I to meet, and at first we smile and shake hands, before both laughing a little and giving each other a hug. It must be as much as a relief to her as it is to me to learn she isn't alone, there is another of her kind out there.

"Nina doesn't speak a lot of English, so I will translate for you when needed. Shall we take a seat and talk further? I can then explain how she was found" Agnes says, and I nod a little dumbly and return to my seat.

"Still as full of surprises as ever I see" Eric comments as we all sit down, acknowledging Nina with a sort of smile at least. She might be my kind, but he's always very cool with new people (or, species I suppose) he meets. That's just him. We sit and then hear the story of how Nina was found. She comes from a small town called Notodden in Norway, and was discovered to be what she was by a female werewolf in a coffee bar when they met just six weeks ago. Of course, upon sight of her she knew what she was. She took the news to her packmaster, who then reported it to a certain vampire Queen. Ralph Arnesen could hardly believe his luck when the find landed in his lap. Although he is unusually quite close to Agnes, the find further improved the vampire/werewolf relations in Norway so I'm told.

There is also something very important that must be noted about Nina too. She's five months pregnant, with a baby girl. So in just over four months time two will become three. I'm relieved at this; I had begun to secretly feel a little guilty that another Wolverina would not be born to me. It's impossible since my boyfriend fires blanks, and there's no one else's child I would ever consider carrying. Eric's child would be the only child I'd ever consider changing my mind over, but as I said that is impossible. As our talk continues I feel a little sympathy for Nina when I learn she will be raising the baby alone, she and her boyfriend splitting up when she was only twelve weeks gone. It seemed fatherhood was something he was just not ready for, and washed his hands of them both. Nina, who I am learning is a very smart woman, even made him sign away his fatherly rights if he was that adamant on leaving them.

"He is not type of man I want as father for my child. I think he be bad influence, I think I did not make good choice with him from start. I do not want him back in my life or in baby's life also" she tells me in her slightly broken English, fondly stroking the small swell of her stomach as she speaks. Smart girl, I'd have done the same if I was in her position. With Agnes translating in places we sit and get to know each other a little better, with Eric and Pam's interest waning after a while. They excuse themselves while us three remaining women sit and talk. Nina and I share our feelings of bewilderment and wonder we went through when we found out what we were, both agreeing it to be the most staggering thing to happen to either of us. We also share our mutual feeling of relief that we are not the only ones on earth. We now know of another, and just like Agnes we are also positive more will begin to turn up in the coming months and years. All they need is to be in the presence of a sharp vampire who will eventually figure it out as what happened with me, or a werewolf as with Nina and the discovery will be made.

The meeting with another of my kind, and spending time with Agnes are two things that bring me joy tonight, but none so great as to be alone with Eric again, at a little past five in the morning. It's strange to think that exactly a year ago I found him to be nothing but a thorn in my side. Now, there will never be a time in my life when I'm away from him. He's who I'm bonded to on a level so deep nothing will ever break it. I never really thought I'd be capable of committing myself so deeply to someone either. With Eric though, he's just so perfect for me in every way that in the end there was just no doubt left in my mind than to become what we are today. It was just the right decision to make.

"You're wearing far too many clothes for my liking, my beauty" he tells me as one of his hands begins to sneak inside my top, the other moving my hair out of the way to plant a single kiss at the side of my neck. Just that feeling alone makes my body tingle pleasantly all over, that tingle intensifying when he slides off my top and begins to stroke my breasts as I turn in his arms and kiss him deeply.

"Mmmmmm, I love you" he murmurs, before the piercing of his fangs into my neck renders me almost senseless with pleasure. Oh yes, I definitely made the right decision.

The End.

**Authors note - Well folks, we've reached the end of the tale of Tyra and Eric :'( I have to admit I am sad to see it finish. For the last seven months this story has been a labour of love, and I have been simply overwhelmed by how well received it has been. THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for sticking with it guys, for tirelessly reading and reviewing and loving it :) YOU (yes, you there!) have made it all worth it, so give yourselves a big pat on the back for being a truly wonderful audience! I'd like to end it with a song, something I haven't done before. I've loved this song from the day it was released, and just think it very fitting for Tyra and Eric. So here we go, the story of the love between a vampire and his Wolverina fades out to the following tune (I tried again and again to link it but it just would not let me, the song is 'Love song for a vampire' by Annie Lennox, go look it up!) xxx**


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